On October 3, 1993, Task Force Ranger set out on Operation Gothic Serpent. The mission’s intent was to capture a local warlord. As it tends to happen, Mr. Murphy showed up and threw his proverbial monkey wrench into the works. By the time it was over, the mission had stretched from a prospected few hours into two days, resulted in two helicopters being shot down, seventy-three wounded American soldiers, and nineteen more killed in the fighting. (US Army Airborne and Special Operations Museum, 2021) In the popular culture, we call this the Blackhawk Down incident.
Two of those nineteen soldiers killed were Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart. As members of the elite Delta Force, both of these snipers held a belief in saving their fellow soldiers. They held that belief to such a degree that they were willing to get out of their helicopter and stand between the downed Blackhawk and those attacking it. They knew why they wanted to be there, and they were willing to and did indeed give their lives for the pilot.
You and I may never be faced with such a dire situation. And I pray that we are not. But the lesson of knowing why these two men were willing to stand in harm’s way is one that you can I can learn from. Whether it is a goal to lose weight, gain muscle, drop the dreaded “dad-bod,” or to better your mobility by learning self-defense skills, knowing your “why” is important! It is easy to start a routine or a self-defense training plan. That initial motivation is not too hard to find. But motivation is temporary! It may start the engine, but it does not fill the gas tank! Knowing why you are in the gym, on the training, or straining to breath or push out one more rep will keep you going long after your motivation has fled you! And that “why” may change over time!
I found my first “why” as a high school sophomore. I started wrestling in the 103-pound category. And I set a record that first year! Most losses! I went 0-13 for the season. Not the kind of record I really wanted to be known for. But I had an excellent coach who, with no monetary compensation from either a financially broke teenage kid or the school he worked for, labored with me 6 days a week until the next season began. I was so focused on becoming a good wrestler that I pushed every day to do whatever workout he gave me. And it worked. I went 13-6 the next season, taking a second-place finish in one tournament and third in two others. God Bless Coach Ray Jones! That initial “why” changed over time to focus on a (very) short fight career, martial arts training, law enforcement work and training, to watching my wife beat cancer, and my desire to fight the advancement of age. What began as a 15-year-old kids desire to not be known as the consummate loser of wrestling matches has become a lifelong pursuit of health and fitness and self-defense training.
But none of it happens without the “why”! You must look at why you want to change your current lifestyle. Being motivated to work out, to hit that heavy bag, grapple with another person, or simply take a walk around the neighborhood can get you started. But it will not sustain you for the long term! Knowing your “why” is what gets you up early in the morning, pushes you through the barriers and boundaries that you see before you, and allows you to excel! Your ”why” must be strong enough to transcend normal limits, pushing you to go farther than you had previously dreamed or dared to. Sgt’s Shughart and Gordon knew their “why,” and they were so dedicated to it that they paid the ultimate price for it. While you and I may never have to go to that extreme, the same mindset, the knowing of our own personal “why,” remains the same.
And you will often discover that it does not limit itself to the gym or dojo floor. Your “why,” and the discipline to follow it, will bleed over into the other aspects of your life. You will find that your work product becomes better, your confidence will grow, and your general outlook on life will tend to trend to the positive. And that, my friends, is a good thing!
References
US Army Airborne and Special Operations Museum, (2021, September 22). The battle of Mogadishu. ASOMF. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://www.asomf.org/the-battle-of-mogadishu/