{What Boot Camp Taught Me About Motivation (It’s Probably Not What You Think!)
When we talk about motivation, most of us picture a single thing: that burst of energy that gets you moving, the inner fire pushing you to achieve your goals. There are endless tips and tricks out there, from inspiring social media posts to thick self-help books. For some, a simple reward works wonders, while for others, it’s a deeply personal drive.
Back when I went through boot camp, finding motivation wasn’t an issue. You simply couldn’t afford to be unmotivated when you were part of a large group working towards a shared purpose. Military training naturally bakes in motivation, but it still demands your best effort to keep going and be effective. Here are five lessons boot camp taught me about staying motivated:
1. Keep Your Focus Narrow
The moment we arrived at boot camp, we were told to put away all our personal belongings. We were given uniforms, picked up basic hygiene items, and essentially stripped of anything that made us unique. Overnight, our lives became incredibly simple. It was tough, yes, but simple. We quickly learned to focus on just what needed to be done each minute of the day: wake up, exercise, shower, shave, eat, train, drill, attend classes, clean, and whatever else was on the list.
Basic training was an extreme lesson in keeping things simple. But it came with a surprising benefit: it made staying motivated much easier. We had no worldly distractions to pull us off course. We couldn’t put things off, get lost in a TV show, or fiddle with our phones. We were completely absorbed in the tasks right in front of us.
How to apply it to your life:
Our modern world is overflowing with distractions. We now use our phones to avoid boredom, getting blissfully sidetracked at every turn. Unfortunately, this habit seeps into our work and personal lives, making it hard to focus on one task for more than a few minutes. With so many devices and endless online content, we’re becoming more distracted by the day. This environment leaves little room for the motivation needed to achieve something great. So, simplify your life. Make it a point to schedule time for scrolling, stick to an organized routine, keep your phone on silent, block time-wasting apps, and reclaim your attention – it’s yours, after all. When you bring focus back into your life, you’ll naturally feel more motivated to tackle what’s truly important and takes priority.
2. The Power of Team Pressure
Usually, we think of motivation as a personal, internal drive. But boot camp throws you into a truly unique setting. While you are an individual with your own duties, you’re also part of a much bigger mission. You have a shared goal to reach, and you must perform your duties as a crucial part of a larger group. Others count on you to do your part. This creates a powerful shared energy that fuels motivation. It’s a healthy kind of pressure to hold up your end, to do your job, and do it well. An unspoken rule quickly emerges: you have to perform at a certain level because everyone else is. This mutual expectation becomes a healthy, motivating force to do your best because others are relying on you.
How to apply it to your life:
You don’t need to join the military to experience the motivation that comes from teamwork. One of the best ways to do great work is to put yourself in an environment that encourages high performance and provides that healthy pressure to excel. Being part of any team should challenge you to become an invaluable member, using your unique skills and abilities to help the team succeed. You cross the finish line together. In a world that often celebrates individualism, it can be tough to find people willing to commit themselves to the greater good of the group. But if you set aside your ego and think about the team’s shared goal, you’ll find motivation comes much more easily. Be a team player, share your unique talents, and let that collaborative atmosphere push you to be better.
3. Embrace Extreme Ownership
It might seem contradictory to talk about "extreme ownership" right after teamwork, but there’s a strong link. Without each individual doing their part well, the entire team suffers. In boot camp, you’re part of the big picture, but you still carry the weight of your individual responsibilities, which ultimately benefit the group. I call it a "weight" with good reason: without some form of burden, motivation doesn’t really exist. Similar to the pressure from your team, you need to take personal ownership of your tasks.
This also applies to making mistakes. In the military, people are held accountable for not performing. That’s why it’s vital to get used to taking full responsibility for your failures, even when factors beyond your control played a role.
How to apply it to your life:
This kind of extreme ownership is just as important in civilian life. Take the time to truly understand your role in an organization, and always work to improve your skills so you become an asset to your team. Strive to be a unique and essential piece of the puzzle, but never lose sight of the bigger picture. This even extends to owning up to your failures. We live in a society quick to blame others. Our first instinct is often to find an outside reason or circumstance for our mistakes, comforting ourselves by avoiding fault. However, if you practice extreme ownership for those failures, you’ll likely be seen as a highly honest, mature, and responsible person.
4. Healthy Comparison
They say comparison is the thief of joy, but when you’re in a barracks full of people striving for the same things, you naturally compare your efforts to theirs. Whether it was making perfect hospital corners on our beds, folding our T-shirts into flawless six-inch squares, aiming for the best accuracy during marksman training, or trying to finish the timed run ahead of the group, there absolutely can be such a thing as healthy comparison. You could also call this competition, but let’s be honest, we always compare our work to others. Being around your peers and seeing firsthand how they perform can be a huge motivator when you need it.
How to apply it to your life:
When you use comparison in a healthy way, with the sole purpose of improving your own skills and abilities, it can become a powerful ally. This is especially true when you’re starting out in a new role. Watching more skilled and experienced workers around you – how they do things, how processes are handled, what the expectations are – is like a real-world classroom. You can’t beat the immediate, personal lessons you get from being present and experiencing things firsthand. Of course, you’ll eventually forge your own path, but in the beginning, let comparison motivate you to grow and get better.
5. Pride
One of the best motivators out there is having a sense of pride in what you do. Boot camp had pride built into its very core. The feeling of committing to the military and your country, the honor of carrying on a rich history, and the opportunity for honest, hard work were always present. One memorable example involved our drill instructors. At first, you’d do anything to avoid them and never wanted to draw their attention. I even turned 18 in boot camp and didn’t tell a soul to avoid any fuss. However, by the end, everyone was incredibly proud of their time with the instructors. We had immense respect for them and would have done anything they asked. Our pride fueled our motivation.
How to apply it to your life:
Take pride in everything you do. There’s a saying that you should do your best work even when no one is looking. Have pride in your work, your relationships, your home life, and how you care for yourself and others. Pride will lead you to set higher expectations for yourself. Over time, this will result in higher quality work, deeper relationships, and improved self-worth. In turn, you’ll naturally become more motivated to maintain your new standards, and your attitude will even rub off on others. Your motivation will become second nature.
A common thread running through all these points is that motivation doesn’t have to be something you struggle with alone. Look around you. Surround yourself with people who are as motivated as you want to be, take full ownership of both your successes and failures, learn from others, cut down on distractions, and take pride in everything you do. Over time, your motivation will soar without needing any self-help gurus or quick fixes.