Mental Toughness Skills for a Nations Defenders - Book Report/Review Example

Review report on the book, “Warrior Mindset: Mental Toughness Skills for a Nation’s Peacekeepers”. Introduction The book, “Warrior Mindset: Mental Toughness Skills for a Nation’s Peacekeepers” was written by Michael J. Asken, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Lorren W. Christensen. Dr. Michael Asken is a Pennsylvanian State Police psychologist and is involved in the selection and training of troopers. He has several roles that include being the psychologist for special emergency response teams and negotiators and sits on the firearms instructors’ editorial board. Christensen is a Vietnam War veteran and a retired police officer with over 29 years of experience in law enforcement. Lt. Col Dave Grossman is a well recognized author, scholar, soldier and speaker as well as an expert in human aggression, field and violent crime. The books first edition was published in the year 2010 by Warrior Science Group as a Psychological text. The text focuses on human performance in high stress situations and how tough they are mentally to cope with difficult situation. The book Warrior mindset gives a definition of mental toughness and explains its critical importance and its functions in the operations of combat, mission and response stress. This book has provided the psychological skills that enhance mental toughness in order to achieve success, a good performance, safety and survival in the field. A report review by Colonel Peter J. Williams shows appreciation of the authors work and termed it as a timely work as it came when the US soldiers had just returned from Afghanistan. The book’s foundation is psychological skills of mental toughness which promote military and police performance especially in missions and operations of high stress. Discussion From the onset, this book offers a short test with an aim to give readers an idea of where they stand in the mental toughness approach. This ranges from “You’re in Command” to “Basic Training as time” as the book continues to describe the various aspects of mental toughness development. The book acknowledges that there are training manuals that advocate for mental toughness but has failed in teaching how it is developed. The authors argue that mental toughness is more than just the aggressiveness and determination to win. They add that “it is possessing, understanding and being able to utilize a set of laid down psychological skills which permit efficient execution of adjustment, decision making perseverance, physical and strategic skills learned in training or by experience” (Asken, Lorren, & Dave 10). In most cases the police and military receive psychological counseling which is becoming of less importance and the authors feel that it is like hiding a horse behind the carts. He feels that they should be well equipped to be more resilient to stress by offering pre-event counseling. One of the authors, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman put across the importance of mental readiness as: “In the end, it is not about the ‘hardware’, it is about the ‘software’. Amateurs talk about hardware or equipments, while professionals talk about software or training and mental readiness” (Asken, Lorren, & Dave 183). Previously, the tradition put focus of human factor research on human-machine and technology integration and use but currently there is what is called high Velocity Human Factors that concentrate on performance and ability to make decisions under stress. This indicates the high support of the author on the benefit of pre event counseling which makes a difference in the ability of a person to complete a mission successfully. There are various methods of skill enhancement discussed in the book and each is supported by various studies. The subject of fear interests me as it is sensitive and has links with the fear of failure. It is here that the author looks upon two possible strategies to counteract this; one is MAS meaning motive to achieve success and second is MAF which means motive to avoid failure. I find this information applicable not only for military and police but also for leaders and everyone else employed somewhere. All actions start in the mind and this book teaches all people how develop that mental toughness which is critical for self defense. Another aspect that captures me is the topic on stress. Two types of stress are defined in the book. The first is a positive state of increased alertness as a person prepares to perform and the second one is being compromised by fear and anxiety. The adrenaline rush under stress can have positive effects which can be life saving and enhanced performance but it can also degrade performance to precarious levels. The effect of stress in diminishing the performance depends on the task at hand as explained in the book. For instance, escaping from a clinch hold or citing a rifle needs different degrees of control. This shows how stress of a deadly force incident influences situational alertness as well as the ability to draw conclusions and execute responses based on the circumstances at hand. High stress conditions are accompanied by high heart rate, tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, clouded thinking and for decades, psychological techniques that can manage these symptoms have been discussed. Mitigation measures have been discussed in the book. Warrior mindset emphasizes on physical fitness as it contributes greatly to physical fitness. The authors argue that individuals who are unfit have greater sympathetic arousal while stress response in physically fit people is lower. Stress tolerance is greater in individuals who are well conditioned. They show a clearer mental performance even under pressure and show signs of a more stable mood. In the book, the authors have used numerous quotations and anecdotes to emphasize on effects of fear and stress on mental toughness. This allows the readers to relate the book with their own personal experiences in order to learn how to deal with intense situations. I personally like the quote from Kipling poem that says “If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when all doubt you” (Asken, Lorren, and Dave 117). It challenges a person to focus on critical information even when a lot of details are coming to them. The warriors are advised to concentrate with greatness for long periods with adequate flexibility to shift that concentration from one point to broad view as required. Another important tool is mental imagery that the authors say improves execution of skills in for which situations which daily life does not provide regular practice. The authors advise the readers to engage all the senses to see, hear smell and taste scenarios that are visualized as an effective mental rehearsal. However the mental aspect only enhances skill development and cannot replace physical training. The authors warn against imagination inflation whereby the confidence in the mind exceeds ones actual skills. In conclusion the author wraps up with an impact on the readers to develop a positive mental attitude which motivates them to develop that mental toughness. Analysis and Evaluation The book includes stories, quotes and anecdotes that make the book very interesting. For instance, “the death by friendly fire of army ranger Pat Tillman”, is retold in the book. The author explains that one does not rise to the occasion; they sink to the level of their training. There are several outstanding things about the book that really captures the mind of the reader. First, the three authors who contributed in writing this book have outstanding characters that the readers can relate with or imagine. Warrior mindset explains well the effects that physical exertion upon the body doers to the mind. It helps the reader to develop the mental readiness before, during and after a potential violent confrontation. The practical exercises are not disappointing as each exercise has a research backing. This book is more directed on military and armed forces but it tends to relate to people in other various fields. The book covers all the aspects that make one a warrior and improve mental toughness. The author achieved his purpose to help the reader develop a positive attitude to develop mental toughness. The book is well laid out and has a flow from the first page which begins with a personal assessment of the reader’s strong areas and where to make improvements. This is followed by importance of physical conditioning which I fared well, handling the stress of combat, mental attack plan, concentration skills and finally the winning warrior attitude. The book has its strength in that it is able to engage the reader from the first to the last page including appendix. The book has its own weakness as it tend to heavily rely on contemporary research and so many books have been cited. Most of the paragraphs are accompanied by quotes, stories or anecdotes that even the reader’s attention focus on them and not the main issue in the book. It is certain that the authors are aware of what they are talking about. From a look at their occupations, Dr. Asken is a psychologist for the Pennsylvania State Police and trains in various organizations in the US Department of Defense. Loren is a Vietnam veteran and has over 29 years of experience in police service. Lt. Col. Grossman is a veteran of the US army and a lead expert on human aggression, root of violence and also violent crime. This shows credit in their work and with the combined efforts the authors know what they are talking about and have experienced it at some point. I agree with the authors arguments that mental toughness is more than just the aggression but a tact that need to be understood and developed just as the physical fitness. I find the book interesting and very capturing as well as engaging as ii went through it. I highly recommend it regardless of the field that a person is in as there is a bit of information for everyone. It is a very good book for those in military forces, the police as well as our leaders who find themselves in very stressful work conditions. Conclusion In the end, the book leaves me with an impression that mental toughness is important in all aspects of life. I am motivated to continue developing and improving their mental toughness and it is a vital reading for both the motivational value and instructional material. Just like physical fitness, the book emphasize on the importance of mental fitness which helps to weed out self defeating thoughts. Work Cited Asken, Michael, Loren W. Christensen and Dave Grossman. Warrior Mindset: Mental Toughness Skills for a Nation's Defenders: Performance Psychology Applied to Combat. Millstadt, Ill.: Human Factor Research Group, 2010. Print. Read More