Mental toughness is the most important skill to develop during basic training. Service members that are successful are not only physically strong, but also mentally powerful. Overcoming doubts, anxieties, or concerns that may be impeding your achievement is an important element of developing mental power.
A new study identifies psychological factors that may predict who will complete – or drop out of – a rigorous marine training course. The US military is always looking for service members who can serve in elite and specialized military forces, such as the Marine Corps. However, because the training courses for these troops are so hard, there is a substantial dropout rate.
Leslie Saxon, MD, executive director of the USC Center for Body Computing, and fellow Center for Body Computing researchers monitored the physical and psychological activity of three consecutive classes of Marines and sailors enrolled in a 25-day specialized training course to help determine predictors of success or failure in elite military training.
The findings were reported in the journals Journal of Medical Internet Research mHealth and uHealth. A total of 121 trainees took part. Only little more than half of the students (64) finished the course satisfactorily.
This study, the first to collect continuous data from individuals throughout a training, suggests that the military may be able to take interventions to reduce the number of dropouts. These findings are novel because they identify traits not typically associated with military performance, demonstrating that psychological factors mattered more than physical performance outcomes.
Leslie Saxon
There was no association between finishing and proficiency on physical training standards such as hikes or aquatic training, according to the researchers. Physical indicators such as heart rate and sleep level were also unimportant.
Rather, the most important determinant was mental. Trainees who classified as outgoing and having a positive affect (the ability to generate a cheerful, confident attitude) were more likely to finish the course.
Before you even depart for basic training, make up your mind that you will complete your contract. Basic training is difficult for a variety of reasons, the most important of which is that you have never had the experience before. You made this commitment, and it is your responsibility to see it through.
“These findings are novel because they identify traits not typically associated with military performance, demonstrating that psychological factors mattered more than physical performance outcomes,” says Saxon, who is also a cardiologist with Keck Medicine of USC and a professor of medicine (clinical scholar) at USC’s Keck School of Medicine.
Researchers were also able to identify psychological factors that caused students to drop out of the course. Trainees usually resign before a hard water training exercise or after experiencing an increase in emotional or physical suffering and a loss of confidence. As a result, researchers were able to anticipate who would drop out of the course one to two days ahead of time.
Saxon has been studying human performance in elite athletes for 15 years, but this was her first military study. She collaborated with the USC Institute for Creative Technologies, which has created military research programs, to conduct the study in collaboration with a training company in Camp Pendleton, Calif., that teaches Marines in amphibious reconnaissance. In most cases, only around half of the participants complete the course.
Before the recruits began the course, the study authors collected baseline personality tests of the trainees, assessing personality type, emotional processing, view on life, and mindfulness. The subjects were then given an iPhone and an Apple Watch, as well as a specially created mobile application, to collect continuous daily measurements of their mental condition, physical pain, heart rate, activity, sleep, hydration, and nutrition while training.
The mobile app also urged trainees to complete daily surveys on mental and physical pain, well-being, and confidence in course completion, as well as teacher support.
“This study, the first to collect continuous data from individuals throughout a training,” says Saxon, “suggests that the military may be able to take interventions to reduce the number of dropouts.” “This data could be useful in planning future training courses for Marines and other military forces in order to increase the number of elite service members, as well as providing insights into how to help athletes and other high performers deal with problems.”
Mental resilience is a skill that may be learned at any age with sufficient practice. It is just as vital to emotionally prepare yourself as it is to physically prepare yourself. Humans lose up emotionally long before they give up physically during difficult physical periods, such as working out. Saxon is already testing whether or not various psychological interventions or coaching might encourage more trainees to stay the course.
