You are trapped. What do you do?
When you find yourself lost and in the dark you can still choose your mindset. You have to make a choice...
When you find yourself lost and in the dark you can still choose your mindset.
Whilst undergoing special operations selection perhaps one of the most daunting elements is resistance to interrogation training.
Having been pursued for several days by a hunter force equipped with helicopters and dogs. Having had little in the way of food or sleep the inevitable happens and you are captured. Initially your capture bundle you into the back of a vehicle and transport you to base a location for interrogation.
The further you get from the point of capture the lower your chances of escape, but that is a conversation for another time.
Once you reach your destination you are thrown into a dark room and the door locked.
You now have 3 choices ...
- Deny it’s happening
- Endure the situation
- Be part of your own solution
Deny
This first option offers a fleeting relief to the reality of any situation. You convince your self that this is not happening to you and the situation is not real. Whilst you feel momentary relief the sensation is short lived is often followed by crippling low once the reality of the situation is accepted.
Endure
The second choice buys you time but at some point you will run out of momentum. Whilst captured you accept the situation that you are in but make no attempt to get out of it. There are a number of accounts of WW2 prisoners of war building their perfect house or going on the their perfect walk all in their minds eye. During the pandemic we have seen families and businesses setting ups choirs and doing quizzes. Al of these strategies buy us time and enable us to better cope with the situation. They are better than denial but not perfect. We are still making no attempt to resolve the situation.
Solve
The third requires courage but will empower the team and ultimately guide you to the answer. If we chose this mindset then from the minute the door is closed behind us we are focussed on getting out of the situation. We focus entirely on what can be achieved and which elements of the situation we can control. Every time we are visited by a guard or there is an opening in the door we are seeking to gain intelligence and look for an opportunity to gain advantage. Whilst this approach requires courage and will power it will ultimately prove more successful. From the minute the door is closed behind us we are forming part of our own solution.
Whilst I hope that none of my corporate clients find themselves in this situation there is a great deal that can be learned from this level of training and mindset.
Are you equipping your team with the tools that will enable them to be part of their own solution and think their way out of a situation?
Are your leadership team looking to create the circumstances that will facilitate success i.e. providing reassurance and direction rather than adding more pressure to an already highly pressured situation?
Back…
