For iron will, apply the 40% rule of SEAL task force

"99% of people running a marathon have ended their journey. It is a very surprising number. But I know, there is a more surprising reason, that is" 40% Rule. "- 40% rule - a term used by US Navy SEAL to train steel spirit".

In the latest video on Big Think, Jesse Itzler - the founder of Marquis Jet (and the husband of the creator of the Spanx-style pants) recounts the story of him running 100 miles with a heavy SEAL agent about 120 kg.

For iron will, apply the 40% rule of SEAL task force Picture 1

For the first time, I met a genuine "SEAL" in the 100th mile (in San Diego). At that time, our journey was a six-person relay run. I joined in with my friends while the US Navy commander ran alone during that hundred-mile run.

Who is this guy? I have never seen anything that looks like that. And during the run, I kept looking at him and at the 70th mile - he weighed nearly 120 kilograms, quite "bulky" compared to a professional athlete - he seemed to break all of them. Small joints in both legs, kidney pain and he finished the race.

After that journey, Itzler did what all the billionaires did: hire a SEAL to live with him and his family to be taught how to train iron spirit.

I ask him to live with me and his family for a month . Everyday, I do everything exactly as many of us do. You know, wake up, go to work, go home, have dinner, repeat it like that. I just want to get rid of this boring, monotonous life. And I think he is the best thing to form a better habit, but my daily life will definitely be disturbed.

40% rule of US Navy SEAL commander

During the time I lived with him, I was taught this rule.

He shared that "when your mind says you have done something, you are only 40% complete." And he has a motto that: If it is not broken, do not do it. That's how he forced us to take the uncomfortable way of determining what our boundaries were, what our safety zones were and turning things around.

SEAL explained that the 40% rule is why even though most people feel tired, stuck in the 16th mile during a marathon, they can still complete their journey.

When writing about my experience on the first day of applying the 40% rule that SEAL task force shared, Itzler wrote:

The first day "SEAL" lived with me, he asked me to do it - he asked how much I could inhale?

I have inhaled 8.

And he said okay. Take the soil for another 30 seconds. My hands clung to the beam and 30 seconds later, I inhaled 6, very difficult.

He said okay again and asked me to continue. I only inhaled 3 or 4 and finally, I could not raise my arm anymore. And he said okay!

"We will not leave here until you get 100 more breaths" and I think this is impossible.

"We will have to stay here for a long time because there is no way I will be able to breathe 100".

When I started inhaling, he showed me, proved to me right here and there are many things that can happen, "we are able to do more than we think" and that is the best lesson I have received.

For iron will, apply the 40% rule of SEAL task force Picture 2

In the latest book called " Living with a SEAL," Itzler revealed the identity of the SEAL task force he invited to live with. That is David Goggins. Goggins is currently the world record holder for sniffing 4,025 within 24 hours - standing at No. 5 in Badwater 135 (135-mile race in Death Valley - Dead Valley) and a real "Ironman Triathlon" . Goggins did all this while he was suffering from atrial septal defect, congenital heart failure due to a hole developed in the walls of the heart that limits tolerance.

According to the SlowTwitch website, "for about 34 years, Goggins lives and works only with ¾ of his heart. The heart must receive too much oxygen-saturated blood and blood is not transported to the rest of the body".

Is the 40% rule correct?

For iron will, apply the 40% rule of SEAL task force Picture 3

The story about Itzler and the SEAL task is very interesting, but does this 40% rule have any scientific evidence to support or is it just a ridiculous thing to invent?

In fact, science says yes. 40% rule base.

In a study done in 2009, scientists found that people who were given a sedative (in fact, the participants were only told it was a caffeine) that could lift an object. more weight than those who only received real caffeine (not tranquilizers).

Certainly, this does not imply that our body and spirit have no limits but it asserts that every limit can be broken. Usually, we limit our abilities, but Itzler's story and hundreds of others are proof that we can overcome the limits set by ourselves.