I read an amazing story shared by Admiral William H. McRaven, the ninth Commander of U.S. Special Operations, in his commencement address at the University of Texas.
“The ninth week of SEAL training is referred to as Hell Week. It is six days of no sleep, constant physical and mental harassment and one special day at the Mud Flats. The Mud Flats are an area between San Diego and Tijuana where the water runs off and creates the Tijuana slues — a swampy patch of terrain where the mud will engulf you.
It is on Wednesday of Hell Week that you paddle down to the mud flats and spend 15 hours trying to survive the freezing-cold mud, the howling wind and incessant pressure from the instructors to quit.
As the sun began to set that Wednesday evening, my training class, having committed some "egregious infraction of the rules" was ordered into the mud. The mud consumed each man till nothing, but our heads were visible. The instructors told us we could leave the mud if five men quit — just five men and we could get out of the oppressive cold.
Looking around the mud flat, it was apparent that some students were about to give up. It was still over eight hours till the sun came up — eight more hours of bone-chilling cold. The chattering teeth and shivering moans of the trainees were so loud it was hard to hear anything. And then, one voice began to echo through the night — one voice raised in song.
The song was terribly out of tune but sung with great enthusiasm. One voice became two, and two became three, and before long everyone in the class was singing. We knew that if one man could rise above the misery then others could as well.
The instructors threatened us with more time in the mud if we kept up the singing — but the singing persisted. And somehow, the mud seemed a little warmer, the wind a little tamer and the dawn not so far away.”
Knowingly or unknowingly each of us either influence others or get influenced by others. If you ever find yourself in the position of being able to influence, remember these five principles:
Respond, don’t react: When you respond, you remain in control with options and choices. When you react, you give others the choice to take charge and manipulate the situation.
Staying balanced is key Be assertive: Say ‘No’ when you need to, say ‘Yes’ when you can, but always ‘Ask’ for what you want and ‘Be responsible’ for your deeds
Never let your emotions overpower your intelligence: When emotions overpower you, all you would want is a constant reassurance that what you believe in is the truth
Maintain a positive and optimistic outlook: You are the only one in charge of how you feel, so maintain a positive mind and a positive life
Be responsible: It is not only what you that can influence others, what you do not do can also influence, so be responsible and act responsible.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
