The Power of Movement: Silencing the Inner Doubts

Throughout my time in Special Forces Assessment and Selection, the time I was always at my weakest was not during the events. It was not while I was walking through the woods with 70 pounds of gear, it wasn’t while I was moving an apparatus 5 miles during team week, it wasn’t even during the 28 mile ruck to culminate the event. The time I was at my weakest was when I woke up every morning.

We got very little sleep. Maybe 3 hours on a good day and with the physical activity, this means you never feel refreshed. I distinctly remember the lights turning on and the bay coming to life. People are going in all directions, grabbing gear and preparing for the day. The moment my eyes would open is the moment my inner bitch would attack. It would desperately try to convince me not to go - “you’re too tired. You need sleep. Your back hurts. Your feet have blisters”.

All it takes to silence that voice is movement. 5 minutes of movement and it is rendered powerless.

This is something I do on a daily basis. I wake up at 5 and immediately prepare to go train. Every single morning that I wake up, that voice tries to convince me how comfortable the bed is, how I can just go one day without training, but still, 5 minutes of movement and that voice is silenced and I’m on my way to reach my goals.

If you feel the same when you wake up in the morning, don’t think about everything you need to do for the day, just commit to 5 minutes of movement.