Last updated: September 2026 | By Coach Brad McLeod — Former Navy SEAL, Founder of SEAL Grinder PT & SGPT Online
At BUD/S First Phase — the beatdown phase of Navy SEAL selection — there's a saying the instructors remind candidates when the pain is at its worst:
"It could always be worse."
It sounds simple. Almost dismissive. But after going through BUD/S twice, I can tell you — those five words are one of the most powerful mental tools a candidate has. Here's why, and how to use them.
Where the Saying Comes From
In BUD/S First Phase, candidates are wet, cold, sandy, and exhausted for weeks on end. There is no warm. There is no dry. There is no comfortable. The instructors aren't trying to be cruel — they're teaching candidates the most important lesson in military service: your situation is always manageable if you choose to see it that way.
A candidate lying in the surf zone at midnight, hypothermic and sleep-deprived, could focus on how bad it is. Or they could remind themselves: I'm breathing. My team is here. This is temporary. It could always be worse.
The ones who choose the second perspective are the ones who finish.
How to Use It in Training
Here's how to put this mindset to work in your own training:
Step 1: Embrace the suck. Don't fight the discomfort. Acknowledge it. "This is hard. This hurts. I'm not going to pretend otherwise." Accepting reality is the first step to operating within it.
Step 2: Shift your perspective. In the middle of a brutal ruck, a long swim, or a grinding PT session — ask yourself: what's actually going right right now? You're breathing. You're moving. You're outside. You're getting stronger. Someone else would trade places with you in a heartbeat.
Step 3: Anchor to the mission. Why are you training? BUD/S prep? Getting in the best shape of your life? Honoring a commitment you made to yourself? When the perspective shift isn't enough, go back to the mission. The mission is bigger than the discomfort.
Perspective Is a Trainable Skill
The next time you're struggling through a workout, try this: pull up a video of Paralympic athletes. People who were born blind and love to run. People who lost limbs and compete at world-class levels. People who have every reason to quit and choose every day not to.
They have bad days too. They have days when it would be easy to stop. But they've trained their perspective the same way they've trained their bodies — deliberately, progressively, and without excuses.
You can do the same. Perspective is not a personality trait. It's a skill. And like every skill, it gets better with practice.
Applying It Beyond Training
This mindset doesn't stay in the gym. The best operators I've known carry it into every area of their life:
- Stuck in traffic? You have a car, a destination, and time to think.
- Rough day at work? You have a job, income, and skills that got you there.
- Injury slowing your training? You have a body that's healing, and time to work on what you can.
The situation is rarely as bad as the story your brain tells about it. Change the story.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "embrace the suck" mean in Navy SEAL training?
"Embrace the suck" means fully accepting difficult, uncomfortable, or painful conditions without resistance — and choosing to keep moving anyway. At BUD/S, conditions are designed to be miserable. The candidates who thrive are the ones who stop fighting the discomfort and start operating within it.
How do Navy SEALs stay motivated during hard training?
SEAL candidates don't rely on motivation — they rely on discipline and perspective. Motivation comes and goes. Discipline is a choice you make regardless of how you feel. Perspective tools like "it could always be worse" help maintain forward momentum when motivation disappears.
What is the Navy SEAL mindset?
At its core, the SEAL mindset is a combination of radical ownership, perspective control, and mission focus. It's not about being fearless or immune to pain — it's about continuing to perform despite fear and pain. This mindset is trainable. It starts in your workouts and grows over time.
Can civilians use Navy SEAL mental training techniques?
Absolutely — and they work. Box breathing, perspective reframing, deliberate discomfort training, and incremental goal-setting are all tools developed in the SEAL community that directly transfer to athletic performance, career performance, and daily life. You don't need a Trident to think like an operator.
Build the Mindset With the Right Program
Mental toughness isn't born — it's built. These SGPT programs are designed to train your mind and body simultaneously, using the same progressive discomfort principles that forge Navy SEALs.
🧠 150-Day Navy SEAL Mental & Physical Training System — The complete mental and physical framework. Built for anyone who wants to develop the mindset of an operator.
💪 SGPT 365 Total Training System — A full year of operator-level programming. Every workout is designed to put you in the pain cave and teach you to operate there.
🔥 Endurance to Find Your Why 2026 — The mental framework behind every operator who makes it through. If you don't know your why, this is where you start.
🌱 SGPT Silver On-Ramp Program — New to SGPT? Start here. Build your base — mentally and physically — before pushing into advanced training.
A bad day of training is still better than a good day on the couch.
HOOYAH!
Coach Brad McLeod
Former Navy SEAL | Founder, SEAL Grinder PT & SGPT Online
SEALgrinderPT.com