Transcript of I Failed Navy SEALS Training 4 Times!
MrBallen
0:00When I was in SEAL training, everyone0:01thinks the hard part is at the beginning0:02of training. The hardest part comes0:04about halfway through training. It's a0:056-month [music] long course. Halfway0:07through you're in the underwater phase.0:09And by this point, statistically,0:11everybody in your class [music] is going0:13to graduate despite the difficulty of0:15this test. It's the moment you all are0:17literally forced to have this moment.0:20And it's horrifying.0:20>> [music]0:21>> There's this test called pool0:22competency. They tell you just go in0:24with your scuba tanks and the0:25instructors are going to come down there0:26and just kind of screw with you. And0:28you're going [music] to follow0:28procedures that you're taught to0:30basically after they finish tumbling you0:32around and turning your air off,0:34>> [music]0:34>> you go back on your knees and they're0:35watching you the whole time and you0:36follow these steps. You reach back, you0:38turn on your air, you check your J0:39valve, [music] you check your straps.0:41It's a procedure that no matter what0:42happens to you underwater, you reset,0:44you follow the procedure. But each0:46problem that they give you gets0:47progressively harder to fix. And so each0:50time someone's come down on you, you0:52have to go into the fetal position and0:53just wait. You're going about 60 seconds0:55to 90 seconds with no air. And then you0:56need to follow the procedure. So you can0:58see, you become more and more0:59hypercapnic. And it's this test of1:01staying calm and following the procedure1:03despite literally being on the precipice1:05of passing out. Right. If people call it1:07simulated drowning, [music] and you get1:09four attempts at it. And so I went in1:11and I'm doing the test, failed it1:12miserably four times [music] in a row.1:13Wasn't even close. I actually was the1:15guy that they had to put a pink piece of1:17tape around my ankle and it wasn't even1:19to humiliate [music] me. It's I would1:20get so panicked, I would push off the1:23the bottom of the pool and go to the1:24surface. But [music] we're breathing1:25mixed gas and if you do that, you can1:27risk rupturing your lungs with air1:29bubbles. And so there's like [music]1:30standby divers there to keep me from1:32panicking and rocketing to the surface.1:33And so I failed four times in a row and1:35as a result, I actually got rolled out1:37of the class I was in. They were like,1:38"Look, we're going to give you one more1:39shot, you're going to leave this class,1:41go to the next class, and you can try1:43again with that class." And so we get to1:44test day and I failed the first two1:47attempts. Not out of panic, out of1:48procedural problems. [music] And so I1:50fail on a Friday, there's two more1:52attempts left and it's on that Monday.1:54And if I don't pass them, not only will1:55it humiliate me, but I'm dropped [music]1:57from SEAL training. Yeah. That weekend2:00was horrible cuz I'm thinking about this2:01test. On Monday morning, I got to the2:04pool deck and I was so nervous all2:05weekend. They make [music] you sit with2:06your back to the pool and they made me2:08go last that day. And then when it was2:10my turn, I just had this mental shift2:12occur where I was like, "Holy I'm2:13going to die [music]2:15in that pool before I fail this test."2:16Yeah. And I got in the water and it was2:18like calm comes over me.2:20>> [music]2:20>> And I begin this test and it didn't2:22matter how long I went without air, it2:24didn't matter what the problem was. I2:25had fully committed to this concept of I2:28will literally die before [music] I fail2:30this test. Yeah. And I passed and it was2:32so easy. And it showed me that there's a2:34point where you can convince [music]2:35yourself that your mind can sort of2:37override all the discomfort and you can2:39basically do whatever you want.
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