Tools for Success and How to Excel at Marine Corps Recruit Training
Motivation:
You will hear the term “motivation” a lot at bootcamp. It is arguably the single most important factor that you will be evaluated and tested (figuratively) on while at bootcamp. Even if you are not able to complete a task, if you maintain a high level of motivation throughout, your Drill Instructors will look favorably upon this. The reason behind this may not seem obvious to you right away. Think about it like this: You are in combat, in a situation where you are low on food, ammo, and water, you haven’t showered in weeks, and you are exhausted to the point where you no longer want to continue to fight. If have no motivation, you will quit, you will die, and most likely the Marine to your left will die, and the Marine to your right will die. By maintaining a high level of motivation, it rubs off on the Marines around you and builds a stronger overall team, which is what the Marine Corps is all about. You will get nowhere without teamwork. Motivation is shown through sounding off, volunteering for duties, pushing yourself to the limit on every task you execute, and helping others. All these should be done all the time, especially when you are tired, hungry, cold, hot, uncomfortable, or just plain don’t feel like training. That is when motivation is most important.
Positive Mental Attitude:
The key to maintaining a high level of motivation is a Positive Mental Attitude. This needs to be a conscious decision on your part. You must tell yourself prior to arriving at bootcamp, that no matter what happens, it’s not that bad and it’s only going to make you stronger and a better Marine. The Drill Instructors will make it a point to break you down mentally and physically. That is their job. If you maintain a positive mental attitude along the way, you will be able to withstand the constant stress and use it as energy to drive you forward and help those around you. The most successful recruits are the ones that never feel sorry for themselves, never blame others for their mistakes, and always keep their head up, help out those around them, and know that they can accomplish anything that gets thrown at them. If they can’t accomplish it, at least they gave it their truly best effort, expended all means possible, and sometimes that’s all you can do. Your Drill Instructors will notice this and this will set you above your peers, without a doubt.
Expect the Worst, Hope for the Best:
You will be put in situations in bootcamp where you think it could never get worse than what you are currently experiencing. You will quickly find out, on a regular basis, that that is simply not true. It always gets worse. When you think you are at the worst point where you can’t bear it anymore, it will always get worse.
Example: You’re sitting in a fighting hole, it’s sleeting, you are soaked, freezing, your boots are waterlogged and you have two hours until you come off watch so you can jump inside the hootch to get dry, warm, and change boots. All of a sudden, your replacement goes down with hypothermia. You now have to stand his shift as well. Now you have six more hours of watch. There you have it. It just got worse.
The point of the story is that it always gets worse. But if you go around all day dwelling on it, you will not get anywhere. The same is true for the opposite. If you expect lots of rest, relaxation, and enjoyment everyday at bootcamp, you will be severely disappointed on a daily basis. The best way to overcome this disappointment is to expect the worst possible outcome, but hope for the best.
Example: You are conducting a three-day field exercise with many events and you have not been told the exact timeline for each of the events. You are unsure how much rest and chow time you will get during the three days. Your approach should be a positive mental attitude, tell yourself that you will conduct training for three days straight with no sleep and chow will be eaten on the move. Tell yourself that you will be a better trained Marine in the end because of it. You will not be let down when you find out that you will actually get 10 minutes per meal to eat three MREs a day and will be allowed to sleep for two hours each night.
Motivation:
You will hear the term “motivation” a lot at bootcamp. It is arguably the single most important factor that you will be evaluated and tested (figuratively) on while at bootcamp. Even if you are not able to complete a task, if you maintain a high level of motivation throughout, your Drill Instructors will look favorably upon this. The reason behind this may not seem obvious to you right away. Think about it like this: You are in combat, in a situation where you are low on food, ammo, and water, you haven’t showered in weeks, and you are exhausted to the point where you no longer want to continue to fight. If have no motivation, you will quit, you will die, and most likely the Marine to your left will die, and the Marine to your right will die. By maintaining a high level of motivation, it rubs off on the Marines around you and builds a stronger overall team, which is what the Marine Corps is all about. You will get nowhere without teamwork. Motivation is shown through sounding off, volunteering for duties, pushing yourself to the limit on every task you execute, and helping others. All these should be done all the time, especially when you are tired, hungry, cold, hot, uncomfortable, or just plain don’t feel like training. That is when motivation is most important.
Positive Mental Attitude:
The key to maintaining a high level of motivation is a Positive Mental Attitude. This needs to be a conscious decision on your part. You must tell yourself prior to arriving at bootcamp, that no matter what happens, it’s not that bad and it’s only going to make you stronger and a better Marine. The Drill Instructors will make it a point to break you down mentally and physically. That is their job. If you maintain a positive mental attitude along the way, you will be able to withstand the constant stress and use it as energy to drive you forward and help those around you. The most successful recruits are the ones that never feel sorry for themselves, never blame others for their mistakes, and always keep their head up, help out those around them, and know that they can accomplish anything that gets thrown at them. If they can’t accomplish it, at least they gave it their truly best effort, expended all means possible, and sometimes that’s all you can do. Your Drill Instructors will notice this and this will set you above your peers, without a doubt.
Expect the Worst, Hope for the Best:
You will be put in situations in bootcamp where you think it could never get worse than what you are currently experiencing. You will quickly find out, on a regular basis, that that is simply not true. It always gets worse. When you think you are at the worst point where you can’t bear it anymore, it will always get worse.
Example: You’re sitting in a fighting hole, it’s sleeting, you are soaked, freezing, your boots are waterlogged and you have two hours until you come off watch so you can jump inside the hootch to get dry, warm, and change boots. All of a sudden, your replacement goes down with hypothermia. You now have to stand his shift as well. Now you have six more hours of watch. There you have it. It just got worse.
The point of the story is that it always gets worse. But if you go around all day dwelling on it, you will not get anywhere. The same is true for the opposite. If you expect lots of rest, relaxation, and enjoyment everyday at bootcamp, you will be severely disappointed on a daily basis. The best way to overcome this disappointment is to expect the worst possible outcome, but hope for the best.
Example: You are conducting a three-day field exercise with many events and you have not been told the exact timeline for each of the events. You are unsure how much rest and chow time you will get during the three days. Your approach should be a positive mental attitude, tell yourself that you will conduct training for three days straight with no sleep and chow will be eaten on the move. Tell yourself that you will be a better trained Marine in the end because of it. You will not be let down when you find out that you will actually get 10 minutes per meal to eat three MREs a day and will be allowed to sleep for two hours each night.
|
|