Spartan Therapeutic Training

Think of me in this context as the crossroads between a drill sergeant, a life coach, a big brother, and a therapist. We push ourselves physically to the max - I'm doing it with you - and as our bodies begin to want to shut down, we use that as the window of opportunity to look at the mental process that comes with it. This mirrors, in a safe way, a high stress situation, which is essentially just the extreme end of the spectrum of anxiety or the otherwise maladaptive feeling you often have. 

 

By intentionally entering into such a situation, we bring up those inner voices that say, in varying forms, “I can’t”; “I want to quit”; “I suck.” They are always there, latent, waiting just beneath the surface for some moment when you feel challenged. By providing them with the opportunity to pop their heads up, you are provided with the opportunity to communicate with them and recruit them to your team. 

 

Let me be clear: this is not about abolishing or obliterating those voices. They cannot be surgically excised. They are a part of you, and they (can) serve an important function.  In this situation, as they pop up, we want to talk to them. We want to allow them to speak and actively listen to them, because they are coming up for a reason. Ultimately, they want to help you, though it may feel like they are just a hindrance. 

 

It’s like being with a four year old who comes up, tugs on your sleeve and wants to tell you something. If you listen to them, it ends there. If you don’t, if you ignore them or shoo them away, they’re just going to keep getting louder and louder until they throw a tantrum and force you to listen. These voices act much the same. 

 

As these voices come up, we ask them why. We give them the space to tell you what they need to tell you. My experience teaches me that they always have an important message to relay - you just weren’t able to hear them when they first came to you, and so they needed to get to this dramatic stage - they needed to become that 4 year old throwing a tantrum. 

 

Once we’ve heard what they have to say, we work on recruiting them to your team. Your body, your being, is highly intelligent and adaptive. It knows what to do - but we very often get in the way of that. By recruiting these voices to your team, you create powerful allies within yourself. You align yourself. And in the process, you teach yourself, your higher self or your Capital-’S’ Self, how to be a good leader. A good leader first and foremost knows how to lead, motivate, and work with him or herself, based on the underlying belief that, no matter the situation, they can figure out what to do.

 

This doesn’t happen instantaneously, of course. This requires multiple instances where you prove to those voices, those parts, that you are willing and able to listen to them, to assimilate the information they’re giving you, and continue on. You are proving to those parts - to yourself - that you’re a good and trustworthy leader. 

 

A good leader doesn’t lead from behind with a bullwhip, terrorizing his subordinates into frightful submission. That just leads to a mutiny, which is how many people describe feelings of low self esteem and anxiety - their body/being is against them. 

 

A good leader leads from the front, and knows how to listen to his team and to cultivate trust in his team. His team, in return, believes that the leader can, no matter the situation. This is true for a group of multiple people or solely within yourself. Spartan Therapeutic Training teaches you to be that leader for yourself.