Principle 1: Breathe and Learn to control your Stress

When our bodies feel overwhelmed or “stressed out” it releases cortisol and endorphins. These chemicals cause our palms to sweat, our minds to race, our hearts to pound, and our bodily functions to malfunction.  This is the body’s natural response to stress, developed over millions of years of human evolution.  Learn to control this natural response to stress so that you are poised even under the most stressful of circumstances. Mental, emotional and physical stress can be controlled through deep, controlled and rhythmic breathing.

Principle 2: Positive Energy

Pay attention to your energy. What you put into the universe comes back. This means positive affirmations throughout the day, especially your workouts. Its important to block out all negative self-talk and constantly motivate yourselves to keep going.  You must remind yourself to go on and not quit, no matter what. Have faith in yourself.

Principle 3: Visualization

There have been multiple studies which prove that visualization works. You can use visualization on multiple levels; You can visualize how you want to look, you can visualize completing a particular exercise, or reaching a particular goal.  Using mental imagery to prepare yourself for a goal facilitates a better chance at succeeding. Once the mind is prepared, you will have full control over your mental and physical faculties.

Principle 4: Micro Goals

Set small goals for yourself; get through the week, and then focus on the next week. Before you know it, a month will have passed. One step at a time. Learn to focus on one thing at a time and avoiding all distractions. Do it by determining the overall objective, breaking it down into smaller pieces, and repeating as needed until you get it perfect.

Principle 5: Suck it Up  

To learn that when you’re uncomfortable and discouraged, you just have to suck it up and get through it. The Navy Seals in the US is an elite military unit. Their training is tremendously difficult and intense. There is a large brass bell which sits in the middle of their training compound. All you have to do to quit the training is ring the bell. Ring the bell and you no longer have to wake up at 5 o’clock. Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the freezing cold swims. Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the runs, the obstacle course, the PT and you no longer have to endure the hardships of training. Just ring the bell. The vast majority of trainees ring the bell. The very few that don’t become US Navy SEALS. If you want to change yourself, never ring the bell.