What I Learned At Sniper School

[Siim Land]

Exactly 2 years ago I was going through my national service in the military. During that time I was allocated to a 1 month long sharpshooter course. It was winter and we got our training close to -30 degrees Celsius. I posted this on reddit about 5 months ago and it was widely popular. Figured self-actualizers would appreciate this even more.

The story itself is quite long and very interesting and in retrospect it was very enlightening. I got a lot of life lessons and taught me to be more stoic. To read all of the details read this blog post.

Here are a few key points to take away from this experience which are most important.

• Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Whether lying in the dirt, monitoring the landscape while being buried in snow or doing anything that we don’t want to – it doesn’t matter. This will determine the way we handle anything that life throws at us. This way we’re preparing ourselves for situations that are not perfect and won’t be perished by the difficulties. 
• Adversity is to be expected and welcomed. Challenges are inevitable part of life. Moreover, they make us who we are. There is a difference in yielding to obstacles and overcoming them. The former implies to coping while the latter is thriving and empowering. 
• It is easier to do it the hard way.  As humans we always want to take the path of least resistance. However, this is conditions us in a negative way. Without adversity we would get too soft. In the long run having it tough will make us more able to overcome any obstacle.
• We’re a lot more durable than we give ourselves credit for. A lot of the time it is our mind that gets in our own way. This applies to physical and mental activities – our maximum is always higher than we think. If we are forced to suffer freezing weather or pain with no way out then the only thing we can do is to simply grind our teeth, adapt and endure. 
• Putting in more effort will yield extraordinary results. After coming to the realization that we’re powerful beyond measure exceeding ourselves becomes easy. It’s important to always give our best. Pushing our boundaries further will make us grow and make us better. Never have I regretted taking the extra step or rep further despite the difficulty. It's the actions we didn't take we'll regret the most.
• Pain as well as comfort are temporary. Whether we’re experiencing physical hardship or cozyness it doesn’t matter. The workout will reach its end, the weather will get warmer, the feeling of safety and dryness will soon be replaced by freezing conditions – everything will be replaced by its polar opposite one way or the other. By realizing this we will be able to endure for longer as well as appreciate the comfort we’re currently in more.
• The person beyond our comfort zone is awesome. Continuing on the previous bullet point. If we put in just a little bit of effort and exceed our limitations then we begin to see ourselves differently. We are more capable and confident in our own abilities. Success and self-love becomes a habit. 
• We're all incredibly lucky. If you're reading this, then you probably have no idea how fortunate you really are. My sniper course lasted for a month, yet it felt like an eternity. It wasn't even a real conflict or warzone. It was just training. After graduating, I attained a new perspective on life - to not take anything for granted and to protect my family from the challenges I had to go through. I felt more obliged to start giving back more an to make the world a better place, so that there would be no necessity for warfare.

After going through that 1 month of hardship I improved the quality of the rest of my life. It increased my mental toughness to a limit where I felt invincible and independent of external forces. My mind became a citadel and I truly believe that anything else can hardly be called challenging in comparison to what I went through at sniper school.

Most importantly, I understood that we should all be striving towards making the world a safer and better place for everyone. Being a soldier isn't the best way of bringing peace. Partly, there I found some purpose of starting my work of empowering myself and others. At least it got amplified even more.

Hopefully this will be somewhat motivating and give you a clue about some of the revelations I've had.

Thanks! And read the whole story here.

[Kindle]

thanks for sharing this

[Siim Land]

It's been 3 years since these events and in the mean time I've refined these ideas even further. I made a video about it as well. 
 

Thanks!
Stay Empowered!
Siim