Based on his new book, Military Mindset, extreme adventurer and best-selling author Ant Middleton shares his five top tips for self-development, to train like a pro and reach your cycling goals.
Whether you're a new cyclist or a professional athlete, these tips will help you develop an unbreakable mindset, drawing upon Ant's own military physical and mental training from his time in the army.
1. Set achievable goals
Goals are the milestones on the road to your destination. Whether that's a dream you want to realise, the person you want to become, a cycling race you want to win, or a mission to capture a high-value target - they are the things you should be really passionate about.
We're always told to write our goals down, as if that is somehow going to help us achieve them. That's nonsense. You shouldn't have to write down your goals. If you really want to achieve something, it should already be there in your head. Whatever your goal may be, the key to achieving it is always the same: break it down. A military mission is essentially a series of goals the team has to navigate together.
The only rule is: don't make them too big.
2. Embrace the positive mindset
I've always tried to lead by example. That's equally true when we're filming SAS Australia. It might seem like a small thing, but it's important to show the recruits that what we're asking of them isn't impossible. That it really can be done.
Whatever the situation - whether you're learning to walk again after a serious injury, going back to training after an accident, or if you're afraid of crowds - the power of the positive mindset is strong enough to drag your body through any negative situation you might face. Positivity is what gets you through the toughest moments.
3. Don't rest on your laurels
When you've accomplished something, you have to keep pushing yourself. For me, the challenges I'm taking on now are different from the ones I faced in Afghanistan, but they're demanding in their own ways. Unless you keep on pushing and driving, sooner or later you're going to lose your sense of purpose. There's no benchmark to measure yourself against.
To keep on growing, you need to recognise who you are, what you want from life and what you need. Once you understand that, you'll begin to see what is truly going to fulfil you in all aspects of what I call the Trilogy: the emotional, the psychological and the physical. And this is a constant process. It never stops.
4. Eliminate distractions
If you're preparing for a challenge in life, training for a race, or working on your self-development, don't waste a moment. Spend every single second making life easier for yourself. When you take on that task, or begin that project, or face that opponent in the arena, it should almost feel like you're at home - you should be that familiar with the situation.
If you're preparing for a big job interview, make sure you find out as much about the role as possible beforehand. If you're planning to go for a bike ride early in the morning, get your equipment ready the night before to make things easier when you wake up. Preparation is the key to success. Deep down you will know if you have prepared for something. You will feel confident and ready. And that confidence will breed success.
5. Be adaptable
Versatility is one of the most underrated skillsets of any military force. Mike Tyson put it best when he said that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. The plan might go up in smoke as soon as that first round goes off.
In the purest sense of the word, adaptability is emotional. The body will follow where the mind takes it. To be an effective soldier, I needed to adapt my inner self. Only by analysing your emotions and their accompanying thought processes will you learn about the power of the mind over the body.
Once you understand that, you'll be able to apply it to all aspect of your (cycling) life: you'll be able to recover from setbacks and modify your approach to ensure a better chance of success in whatever you do.
Military Mindset by Ant Middleton is published today by Hodder and Stoughton. Pick up your copy at linktr.ee/antmiddleton.
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