“The nature of the outer, conscious mind is to receive input, process it through our story filter, and then make meaning out of it. A problem arises when too much of what flows through our minds is negative: The conscious mind dwells on negative things and obsesses about them. Sound familiar? It’s well known that whatever we focus on tends to become our reality, even if the focus is on not wanting something. Negative input can plant seeds of destruction in our subconscious mind, which then partners with our conscious mind in a conspiracy for failure.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“Drive is fueled by desire, belief, and expectation that we can achieve something extraordinary through our efforts. It feeds on discipline in that it becomes stronger as we commit ourselves at deeper levels to our pursuits.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“Discipline is the spark that ignites the fire of a habit. Those fires must be lit daily, and discipline provides the original source energy. The word discipline literally means to be a disciple to a higher purpose. Developing the discipline to train hard every day means you become a disciple—not to the training itself, not just to looking good or stroking your ego, but to the higher purpose of developing yourself fully as a human being and as a leader.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“When it comes to habits, the best approach isn’t to focus on eliminating unwanted behaviors but to replace them with new habits and drown the old out. This is true of replacing a nasty habit like smoking with a healthy habit like exercise, and it’s just as true with replacing a character habit like laziness with a more useful one such as embracing the suck. Our habits define us: Solid character habits define a solid character.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“Whether we’re talking about mental or physical effort, the first step to embracing the suck is to step up and face your fear of suffering. We all share this fear, which stems from a deep-rooted need for certainty and security. Pain is your body’s way of telling you that security is threatened because something is out of whack. However, when you consistently experience the personal growth that accrues from deliberately putting yourself out of balance, such as with hard workouts, you begin to embrace that temporary pain for the rewards it brings. The fear recedes into oblivion as you embrace the suck.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“I am just an average man, but by God I work harder than the average man.” ~ Winston Churchill, via The Way of the Seal
“Too many of us succumb to a weak internal story informed by flawed but popular beliefs. We are reactionary to objective events, easily buffeted by the winds of change. Pop culture, people we interact with daily, and external events shape and reinforce this subjective reality. In these instances, we end up being extras in someone else’s story, reacting our way through life, lacking integrity and out of balance.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“Comfort imprisons us in a low-grade fear of suffering. We naturally shy from things that hurt, not understanding how much this pattern debilitates us and keeps us from experiencing life at its fullest. We must define our comfort zone, and then get the heck out of it!” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.” ~ Soren Kierkegaard, via The Way of the Seal
“When it’s obvious that a goal cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goal, adjust the action steps.” ~ Chinese Proverb, via The Way of the Seal
