In March of 2020 the current year, the state of the country, our lives, and the entire world has been presented with a great number of challenges that no one could've expected. Times have been difficult for many of us to say the least, leaving many of us searching for ways to clear our mind of the fear that the media is desperately hoping we buy into and are all looking for ways to motivate ourselves during these uncertain times.
Many of you are familiar with my friend David Rutherford from "The Froglogic Institute". For me personally, Dave always has a way of keeping my head above water when I'm down and out. He is an incredible and caring person who we can all count on for positivity and motivation.
I've asked him if he would so kindly give us some words of encouragement to help push through the negativity we are feeling and get us back to being motivated, happy, productive people. He did just that by providing us "10 Critical Things To Reduce Fear and Improve Your Pandemic Motivation" in his infamous "Embrace Fear" attitude that he is known best for.
If you like what you read check out his new motivational online programs at https://www.froglogicinstitute.com/
-SHAWN RYAN
10 Critical Things To Reduce Fear And Improve Your Pandemic Motivation
1. Prolonged Hyper-Vigilance is going to effect your entire being.
Otherwise known as “Fight or Flight,” this natural reaction will cause excessive amounts of cortisol that can have severe impacts on physical, mental, and emotional health. Symptoms may include bad sleep patterns, excessive fatigue, anxiety, depression, and a prolonged sensation of anger.
2. Limit your exposure to unvetted sources.
During times of crisis, where the future is unknown, we are desperate to find information that we can rely on. However, during the current perfect storm of COVID, social unrest, and the political firestorm of an election year, factual information is hard to come by. Throughout my career as an Intel specialist, both in the SEAL Teams and working for the CIA, I was taught to never rely solely on a singular piece of information as reliable. We learn to vet or research the targeted information against multiple other sources in order for us to determine the information as actionable intelligence.
3. Don’t create unrealistic timelines.
We all want to go back to a place of normalcy. A place where our routines don’t change with each and every new decision made by local, state, and federal authorities. However, under these circumstances there are many things out of our control. Nothing affects the psyche more than last minute changes that effect our ability to achieve our internal goals. Setting timelines are important to our successes but during this crisis be open and ready to change course when mandated.
4. Conduct daily physical activity for at least 30 minutes.
Due to the prolonged hyper-vigilance we are all operating with, you absolutely need to PT (Physical Training) every day. Exercise not only boosts your immune system, but also helps to deplete residual and lingering stress. By improving your physical health, you will also generate a small but important gap in your cognitive function to allow for redirected focus on something other than your existential reality.
5. Get out of your damn PJ’s.
We’ve all been there. Logging in to our latest Zoom meeting and we don’t activate our video option because we’re still wearing your damn pajamas! This is UNSAT (unsatisfactory). If you want to pull yourself out of the depths of COVID qualm, then you have to at least dress like a constructive member of a reemerging society. At a minimum put on a polo shirt while you're wearing your boxers.
6. Establish a focused bedtime routine.
Healthy sleep is the most important part of your daily routine. It’s the time when your brain heals itself. If you are literally jumping into bed after stressing all day, then binge watching some insane Netflix show like the Jeffrey Epstein documentary (he didn’t kill himself), you are not going to get the rest you need. Try winding down 30 minutes before turning off your phone), take a nice relaxing shower, stretch for 5 minutes, and then breathe (mediate) for another 5, then hit the rack. If you don’t allow your brain to repair itself during healthy REM sleep, you’re going to progressively become ineffective.
7. Seek honest peer evaluations.
When this whole thing kicked off, I was loaded with texts, calls, and emails, all asking whether or not the apocalypse was coming. I must admit I too was pretty worried. However, I quickly realized that I needed some quality perspective. So, I reached out to several of my closest friends, including Shawn, and asked what they thought. These different perspectives helped me to realign my thought process in a sensible manner in order to maintain a calm and rational mindset. We need to hear the difficult truth sometimes.
8. Be patient, be calming, be thorough.
The last thing you need to be doing is projecting your fears onto those you care most about. It’s critical to recognize that we are all struggling during these crazy times. There is no rapid solution to any of the situations you’re dealing with. Stop trying to force a reality that isn’t true. We need to slow down and maintain some empathy for those who are part of our team. We also need to remain calm in the face of the storm so you don’t make stupid mistakes. And finally, don’t be afraid to take your time evaluating all possibilities of improving the mental health of your tribe.
9: Establish a new financial reality.
Since the modern explosion of material pursuit, we have been working ourselves to death trying to achieve a means of living that extend beyond our financial realities. You must begin to reevaluate your current and future financial position. There are still those who remember what it was like during WWII. Sacrifice some unnecessary creature comforts to gain a more secure feeling of financial longevity.
10: Uncertainty and failure are all part of discovering your true purpose.
Throughout history the human species has been getting hammered by pandemics, war, political turmoil, and the endless reality of life’s typical pain. Nobody knows the future. Everybody knows failure is inevitable. What most people attempt to compartmentalize is their fear of the unknown and failure. In the SEAL Teams, the unknown operational realities are a massive part of our drive to train more than our enemy. Murphy’s law is a real thing. And, failure is built into every aspect of our training. So, either you train hard and learn to fail until you don’t, or you get killed. Don’t try and kill your fear, learn to embrace it through great training and a healthy acceptance of an ever-changing battle space.
About David Rutherford
David Rutherford is the CEO and lead curriculum developer for the Froglogic Institute. David served honorably as a Navy SEAL Medic, Instructor and Operator.
Since his departure from Special Operations, he continued to hone his skills as an instructor and high threat protection specialist for the CIA. In his time since serving the country, he has built a top motivational and performance company called Froglogic Concepts. Not only does he work with some of the top companies in the world, conducting 40 - 50 speaking events a year, but he also works with professional and collegiate sports teams and organizations.
His most notable accomplishments came in 2018 while working with the collegiate world series champions, the Oregon State Beavers, and working with the World Series Champions, the Boston Red Sox. David offers ‘Real World’ curriculum designed to enable individuals and teams to succeed in the most extreme environments imaginable.
The Froglogic Institute offers courses rooted in over 70 plus years of Special Operations and Intelligence Agency training and mission doctrine. These are not your average humanities courses. Please learn more about David and the Froglogic Institute by visiting the website at www.froglogicinstitute.com.
