Years later, during my time studying mental management, this mindset would serve me well when I learned that it was imperative to keep an open mind about things we think we can or can’t do. I would learn from some of the best on the subject during my time as a Navy SEAL sniper instructor.
Most of us can do it if we open ourselves up to it and declare it.
“I’m just not good at fixing things.”
When I became a pilot and started flying Yaks with a great group of former military fighter pilots, one of my mentors, “Bones,” took me under his wing. “Sell that Cessna and come fly with us. There’s a Yak 52 for sale up north. Go buy it,” Bones would say. A few weeks later and I was taxing my new ugly white Yak 52, which was painted some nasty USSR scheme I would later change to desert camo. You can find it on my Instagram @brandontwebb.
Flying air combat with this group would change my life and make me a better pilot in so many ways. But it also changed the way I thought of myself. Before, Brandon was not a mechanic. After working with this group Brandon was a mechanic.
“Why don’t you rip the gear of that old Yak? I have to rebuild the gear and could use the help”, Bones said to me one Saturday morning in San Diego. “Where’s the manual?” I asked. “You’ll figure it out once you start pulling it apart.” And I did. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m still an advocate of looking at the manual, but in this case, the gear system was simple enough.
This would be the small mindset shift I needed to start thinking of myself as mechanically inclined. It would give me the confidence to change my air pump, install a new exhaust system, and more.
“I AM good at fixing things.”
Once we change the way we think about ourselves, only then will we able to make the transformation happen. Math, public speaking, mechanical stuff, swimming, flying — you name it — you can overcome it.
So please pay attention to the way you talk to yourselves and others. Words are powerful and can be transformational to so many, especially to kids.
I’ll host a live Q&A on my experiences with mental management in the sniper course for the SOFREP community soon.
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