Standard Directive 001: Take Control

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Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Jocko Willink?

  Our minds are, they're pliable. Everyone's minds are pliable. And it's different levels. Some people have more pliable minds than others. But our minds are pliable and we get influenced by our environment. That's what happens. Music, words that you read, movies, books, social media, the, the news, the people you're around, family, friends, people that you work with. You're getting influenced. That's what's happening. Think about how you feel when you hear some aggressive music. Think about what that does to your mindset.

• 0:44Jocko Willink?

  You hear aggressive music and you start feeling a little bit amped up. Or you hear some sappy music. Or some party type music. It impacts you. It influences the way you're thinking. Movies can change your mood. Right? I mean, everyone's felt that. You watch some movie. It's a happy movie. It's a sad movie. It's an action movie. It influences the way you're thinking. You, your friends. You got friends that like to party. Right? They like to go out. They like to drink and go out to the clubs. You're around those people. All of a sudden you can start feeling that little urge.

• 1:28Jocko Willink?

  And you got other friends that are disciplined. They are gonna go to the gym early in the morning. They make you wanna work out. So these are examples that we might not be thinking about them. But if you think about them, you know they're obvious. And this is happening all day long. This is happening all day long. Our minds are morphing from minute to minute.

• 1:56Jocko Willink?

  If we let them.

• 1:58Jocko Willink?

  If you are not paying attention, if you are on cruise control, then your, your mind is not under your own control. We can't be in cruise control. You can't let your mind be in cruise control. You have to be cognizant of what you're thinking.

• 2:16Jocko Willink?

  You have to be cognizant, you have to be aware of how you are being influenced.

• 2:24Jocko Willink?

  Because in this day and age, right now, if you aren't careful, you can slide down the path of least resistance. The path,

• 2:35Jocko Willink?

  path to weakness. The path to fragility. And the path to a lack of control as to what is happening in our lives. In your life.

• 2:49Jocko Willink?

  Life will happen to you

• 2:53Jocko Willink?

  instead of life happening for you.

• 2:58Jocko Willink?

  Do not allow that. Just do not allow that. You have to take control.

• 3:05Jocko Willink?

  You, you've got to do something to get control of your brain, of your mind. You've got to check yourself. I don't care how you do it. I don't care if you, if you set an alarm every forty-five minutes so you can audit your thoughts. So you can audit what is influencing you. So you can control what's influencing you. Control the things you think about. You can actually control how you feel. You can control what you think. And you can definitely control what you do.

• 3:36Jocko Willink?

  Do not be a slave to influence.

• 3:41Jocko Willink?

  You've got to be the master of your mind. You've got to control your mind. You've got to exercise mind control.

• 3:51Jocko Willink?

  That means you've got to pay attention and be aware all day.

• 3:57Jocko Willink?

  That's what you've got to do.

• 4:00Jocko Willink?

  So go execute.