EPILOGUE

IF YOU WANT TO be extraordinary, you must train extraordinarily! Doing what you have always done leads to the same old results. If you want different results in your life, and if you want to succeed, you need to make changes to make it happen. In the VUCA battlefield, Special Ops warriors must always look for new and different ways to do things, to keep the enemy from learning their patterns. They must attain and sustain exceptionally high levels of confidence, self-control, and self-regulation. They must train themselves to be self-aware leaders who can keep their eyes on the prize; maintain a positive, optimistic, and adaptive mindset; have razor-sharp focus amid distractions; and remain cool, calm, and composed under fire. In a world of uncertainty and ambiguity, we cannot “train to the test.”

These skills are no longer necessary only for elite military. As I have shown, we are all living in a VUCA world. We all have to be ready for constant change and upheaval. Therefore, we all need to master the mental skills necessary not only for survival but for success in this new environment.

This differs from just developing competencies and abilities. Mental skills education and training add root skills that significantly enhance their application to performance. In critical situations, one action changes everything, and the leader must be prepared to be the one to make it. What good is experience if a person does not reflect on it through the lens of awareness, self-reflection, self-control, and self-regulation?

Now that you understand the VUCA environment that we live in today, and the capacities needed to become a peak performer in these situations, keep practicing your skills to train your own brain for success.