The Art of Mental Training - a Guide to Performance Excellence (Classic Edition) by D. C. Gonzalez Page A

the Navy, I admit that I got to know the type of fear that
near-drowning can bring on.  I nearly drowned on a couple of occasions during training. 
The truth is, try as they might to keep it from happening; people die in that
type of training program every year.  It’s just the nature of the situation.
    All the deep-water survival
training is done wearing full flight gear, including helmet and boots, with no
floatation.  You have to use the techniques taught and learn to avoid drowning
despite everything that’s weighing you down and trying to pull you under. It
can be exhausting. One day, thanks to my lack of technique, I learned what the
fear associated with believing you are going to drown felt like.  I remember
the dark green glaze of the water, my last grasped breath, the glimpse of a
pale blue sky, and then my last thought as I went under:
    I hope they noticed a helmet
sinking . . .
    The worst and scariest training
sessions were called the helo-dunker.  Imagine being strapped into a helicopter
simulator with a co-pilot and four other crew.  Once everyone is strapped in,
the entire apparatus is dropped into a training tank of water from around twenty
feet up.  No one is allowed to move until the “aircraft” sinks down about
twenty feet, where it is rotated on cables, turned over and up-ended in order
to disorientate everyone.  Once the movement stops, you have to count down from
ten, after which all six on board have to find their way out of a specific
hatch designated by the instructors just before the drop into the water. 
Everyone must do this wearing swim goggles that are blacked-out in order to
make him completely blind.  It’s an interesting situation that can easily lead
to panic.
    In order to get out safely of
course, the trick is not to panic, release your safety harness, and never lose
your reference point.  One hand must always be grabbing some part of the
aircraft interior as you work your way out.  You never release the reference
point you have until your other hand reaches out and grabs a new one.  So even
as you float upside down, disoriented in total darkness, the one hold that you
always have, gives your inner mind the reference point it needs, and by using
your mind’s eye, you are able to find your way to the required exit hatch.
    One of my roommates had to be
pulled out by rescue divers when he panicked and failed to get his harness to
release.  He almost drowned.  The fear on his face when he was helped out of
the water was real.  And since he had failed, we all failed.  Without
hesitation, he and the rest of us were all immediately loaded up to try again. 
There was no time to dwell on his near-drowning experience; instead we were all
strapped back in again—and again—and again.  Until we all got it right, until
we all beat our fear of drowning.
    "Those must have been very
intense feelings." Leo-tai said." After all, fear is a normal
response to something dangerous or threatening.  While many would say that fear
is healthy, it is no good if fear seizes control, especially when we may have
to save ourselves or save others.  Fear can ruin our potential to
perform."
    “So how can you stop fear from
seizing control?” I asked.
    "Controlling fear involves
two things: a choice and a strategy.  The choice is whether we truly choose to
confront the fear; and then the strategy is how we go forward, having made the
choice to do so.  Naturally in the Navy they made the choice for you and you
were forced to confront your fears.  They applied their strategy whether you
guys liked it or not, and so pushed you beyond your fears.”
    Leo-tai looked me straight in
the eyes.
    “Fear can create tension,
doubt, anxiety, loss of coordination, and loss of concentration.  In the worst
cases, fear can even begin effectively shutting down neuro-muscular
connections!  Someone who is afraid naturally tends to shift their focus on to
what can go wrong, and when they do that, Danielsan,