How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution Like an Operator
This tradecraft guide offers insights into keeping your New Year’s resolutions from the disciplined lifestyle and work ethic of a Special Forces operator.
For a Special Forces operator, the concept of a New Year’s resolution transcends the typical annual promise. It becomes a mission, an objective that demands the same level of commitment and resilience as any operational task.
The key to not giving up on your resolution lies in adopting a mindset that is ingrained in every successful operator: persistence.
In the world of covert operations, objectives are rarely straightforward or easy to achieve. They require meticulous planning, unwavering focus, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. When setting a New Year’s resolution, approach it with the same strategic planning as a mission.
Define your objective clearly – be it improving physical fitness, learning a new skill, or enhancing your professional expertise. Break down this goal into manageable tasks, setting both short-term and long-term milestones. This method of incremental progress, commonly utilized in field operations, ensures that the goal remains achievable and keeps motivation high.
Developing Resilience Through Training
Training and preparedness are at the heart of a Special Forces operator’s life. Resilience is not an inherent trait but a skill honed through rigorous training and repeated exposure to challenging situations. When applying this to New Year’s resolutions, it is essential to understand that setbacks are part of the process. Rather than viewing them as failures, see them as opportunities for learning and growth – an attitude that is crucial in covert operations.
To build resilience, start by creating a realistic training plan. If your resolution is fitness-related, for instance, your regimen should reflect your current physical condition and gradually increase in intensity. The key is to push your limits without overwhelming yourself. Just as an operator would not attempt a high-risk mission without the necessary preparation, do not set yourself up for failure by taking on too much too soon.
Leveraging Intelligence and Adaptability
In the field, intelligence gathering and adaptability are vital for mission success. Similarly, when pursuing a New Year’s resolution, it’s important to continuously gather information about your progress and adapt your strategy accordingly. This could involve tracking your workouts, monitoring your diet, or reflecting on your learning process if your goal is skill acquisition. Regularly assessing your progress helps in identifying what works and what doesn’t, allowing for timely adjustments.
Flexibility is another critical aspect. Just as an operator must be ready to modify their plan in response to new intelligence, be prepared to adjust your approach to your resolution. Life’s unpredictable nature might throw unforeseen challenges your way. The ability to pivot and adapt your strategy is essential to stay on track.
Building a Support Network
Operators rarely work alone; they rely on a network of allies and resources. Similarly, achieving a New Year’s resolution is often more feasible with support. Whether it’s a training partner, a mentor, or a professional coach, having someone to share your journey with can provide motivation and accountability.
In the world of covert operations, teamwork and trust are paramount. Apply this principle by building a support network that encourages and assists you in your mission.
Keeping a New Year’s resolution as a Special Forces operator involves more than sheer willpower. It requires adopting a mindset of persistence, developing resilience, leveraging intelligence, being adaptable, and building a support network.
Approach your resolution as you would a critical mission, with strategic planning, dedication, and the understanding that setbacks are part of the path to success.
With these principles, the journey to fulfilling your New Year’s resolution can embody the spirit and tenacity of a Special Forces operator.
[INTEL : CIA Method of Overcoming Procrastination, Using The ‘Pomodoro Technique’ Like The CIA]
[OPTICS : Undisclosed, Ukraine]
![“Survival in any form for any environment is an act of prevention and or recovery, best enacted by preparation.” -Det V Cader The problem with survival prepping is the assumption that you’ll be home when the SHTF, if not then it was all for nothing. This is the solution: Standard “prepping” is the practice of stockpiling pertinent supplies and the training of survival techniques to be used for a possible lifestyle altering, large-scale catastrophe or SHTF event. The typical process is simple; slowly but consistently acquire food, water, weapons and other relevant equipment and store them in a singular central location such as a home or private “bomb” shelter. Just as important but far less utilized is the ongoing learning and practice of survival, defense and use of the prepped equipment. Having everything in one location has one fatal flaw, however. It assumes that you will be at that very location at all times or it will always be easily accessible and nearby to your present location. There’s no way of knowing when or where an “event” will take place. Meaning getting to your home base where all your survival prepping is stored may be impossible due to the nature of an “event”; mass gridlock traffic, land / infrastructure destruction, social panic and violence, restrictive martial law, vicinity containment, active combat / hot zones and public transportation collapse. The average person commutes to work or school 5 days a week far enough that they need to take motorized transportation, public or private. Then there’s leisure, recreation and errands time at other homes and facilities as well as being away on vacation. So all that survival prepping, across town or half way around the world can be lost or seized by another. For more than a decade I’ve been doing the “vagabond survival prepping method” of which evolved from stashing small city-specific go-bags around the world as part of my former operative profession. It wasn’t about survival back then but about professional utility and function. Equipment that wasn’t ideal to equip on my person at all times because of unnecessary baggage or non-permissive locales. As time went by and the more I returned to some of these “prepped cities”, the go-bags that were already stashed became better equipped and for more dynamic use such as urban / wilderness survival. To this day, I manage these hidden go-bags whenever I happen to be in their respective countries. That’s my way of survival prepping while vagabonding. These are located in a growing number of the cities I frequently visit in secure but relatively easily accessible spots such as; under a boulder access in New York’s Central Park, inside a tree stump in the Amazon Jungle and a derelict manhole in Bangkok – all of which have been my active stash spots for years. Unlike typical at-home-preppers, I don’t have the luxury of a long term address so I can’t hand pick the exact items I want off the internet to ship to. But this works out for me just fine as I build / upgrade my kits with readily available materials from the city I’m in. So if an “event” does take place (which will often affect major cities first and most), I’ll have my prep kit close by no matter where I am in the world. Instead of having to rely on a singular base a continent away. Due to the limited opportunity but unlimited variety of goods available while constantly traveling, each go-bag is completely different. Some by design and others by necessity. All are sealed to protect from the elements and hidden but easily “accessible”. Various Kit Items List: Backpack, Duffle Bag or Dry Bag MRE’s, Canned Foods and Vitamins Bottled Water and Energy Shot Water Treatment Tablets Prescription Contact Lenses Kevlar Vest or Shield Climbing Rope and Gear Euros and US Dollars Gold and Platinum Bullion Urban / SERE Kit Wilderness Kit First Aid / Trauma Kit SD Card w/ Data Smartphone Gas Mask Knife, Machete and other Weapons CB and Two-Way Radio Full Change of Clothes Multi Tool and Pry Bar Flashlight and Chemlights Sleeping Bag or Parka Solar Charger Some may consider renting a locker in a facility like train stations or self storage units. It’s not easy to maintain them for years at a time when you’re not even in the country for years at a time. Also, when considering an “event”, it’s logical to expect the loss of power grid and the mayhem in busy public areas. It’s best to stash them where no one will look in an area that won’t be too hectic but not where it will be too difficult to reach with limited transportation options. The vagabond survival prepping method isn’t limited to location independents and nomads, however. Consider your travel requirements of daily life and stash a go-bag in strategic spots accordingly; in your car, near your job, somewhere between your home and work, a friend’s place and near a hangout you frequent. Survival prepping doesn’t end with the acquisition of supplies and equipment, it only begins there and continues on with honing skills to survive and thrive. [OPTICS : Triple Aught Design Pack]](https://trdcrft.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Vagabond-Survival-Prepping-FAST-Pack-Litespeed-1-490x550.jpeg)
