The US Navy’s SEALs are perhaps the most skilled and famous special forces operatives in the world.

There’s no other special forces team like them, and they have an impressive number of accolades and accomplishments under their belts.

But one of the reasons (aside from their intense training regimens and high-tech equipment!) that Navy SEALs are so effective: Their confidence. 

The Navy SEALs never go into a mission expecting to fail... In fact, they go in expecting to win!

Let’s take a look at those confident operatives and see if we can transfer some of their confidence-building elements to a civilian lifestyle.

Talk to any Navy SEAL, and they’ll tell you that you can’t get the mission done without a positive attitude.

On some level, this makes sense – you won’t want to finish any difficult task, let alone get out of bed, if you aren’t positive from the get-go.

Learning to cultivate and maintain a positive attitude is undoubtedly easier said than done, but it’s absolutely crucial if you want to build up your self-confidence.

A positive attitude will help you push through difficult times or tasks when your body just wants to quit.

Navy SEALs are fit to a man, and there’s a good reason for this. 

While they need to be fit to carry out their combat missions, it’s also universally understood that fit people are confident people. If you look in the mirror and see a fit body staring back, you’re more likely to be confident in all your daily endeavors.

This extends to everything in civilian life, including confidence in your workplace, romantic encounters, and in physical activities like hikes or working out at the gym.

If you aren’t already fit, you can still become fit over a few months. Find a great diet routine and exercise regimen and stick to it. As you build up strength and become fit, your confidence will rise accordingly.

All Navy SEALs emphasize the importance of setting goals and keeping them.

This is a form of integrity – all SEALs are trained to honorable and fulfill their obligations, including fulfilling any goals they set.

You should start small if you don’t have a lot of confidence already. 

Keeping these goals will help you become more confident to set bigger and bolder goals, allowing you to tackle greater challenges. 

You’ll be defeating SEAL obstacle courses in no time!

What if you already have some experience and want to build up your confidence further?

Some say that the best way to learn is by teaching others – it helps you look at the material or skills you already know from another perspective, which in turn solidifies your own understanding of your discipline.

By finding and mentoring someone else in whatever field you’re an expert in (computer programming, exercise, sports, writing, whatever), you’ll not only do something nice for another person, but you’ll also build up your own confidence while you're at it.

Confidence comes from a deep sense of self-assured success, and can be built up along the way while we’re all on the path to our goals.

So keep pushing, keep challenging yourself, keep improving. 

Thanks for reading,  

Justin 
Author