For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Tim 1:7 (NLT)
PART 1 – Discipline Your Fear
Fear. What is it actually?
Fear of failure.
Fear of the unknown.
Fear of change.
Fear of others.
Fear of uncertainty.
Fear often boils down to our own desire to control the outcome of any given situation.
Because we feel ‘out of control.'
In the book “The Art of Mental Training”
Because Navy officers spend so much time at sea, they do an extensive amount of deep sea training; discipline that prepares them for some of the worst possible outcomes.
Gonzalez recalls one of the scariest training simulations; The Helo-Dunker.
In this simulation, the sailors are strapped into a helicopter cockpit in full combat gear. Each one has blacked-out swim goggles placed over their eyes and the helicopter cockpit is dropped from 20 feet into a deep pool and violently turned over and around via cables, disorienting the passengers. The recruits are instructed NOT to unstrap themselves until the helicopter has come to a complete standstill. From this point, they must exit the cockpit from a specific hatch that was allocated to them prior to the dunking.
All this without eyesight, while holding their own breath and completely disoriented from the simulated crash. The situation can easily lead to panic.
If one of the six trainees has to be rescued by the divers on standby or they exit the wrong hatch, the whole group has to do the simulation immediately again. No questions. No delay.
The idea of this drill is for the recruits to ‘train their fear’ and take control of it. To push all of their faculties to the limits and remain focused and undistracted by the panic.
Ever found yourself controlled by fear? A particular situation or person that has sent chaotic and nerve-chilling waves of anxiety through you?
What’s interesting, as this simulation reveals, is that fear can be trained out of us. By facing fearful situations head-on, we can learn the art of self-discipline – quieting that fearful and primal scream – and allowing our minds the clarity to problem-solve the issue at hand.
Fear will cloud your ability to think clearly enough to navigate out of cold, dark and disorienting situations. And so God has gifted us with power, love and self-discipline. These are all weapons to subdue the fear which prevents us from rising to the surface.
Face your fears head on and when that scary, disorienting feeling starts to creep in you’ll have the ability to defy the odds and rise to the top!
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Go to PART 2 “Fear Training”
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