The biggest thing I learned from being in the special forces is

Hear the words of Nirmal Purja, a warrior of the high mountains and a soldier of the elite: “The biggest thing I learned from being in the special forces is the decision-making process and also the willingness not to give up. You need to have a certain mindset. I call it a positive mindset.” These are not idle reflections but lessons carved into the flesh by hardship, endurance, and the raw struggle for survival. They are teachings for all who would endure life’s battles, whether on the battlefield, the summit, or in the quiet trials of the heart.

To be in the special forces is to stand in the crucible of danger, where hesitation brings death and where despair cannot be permitted. In such a place, every choice is weighed in fire. The “decision-making process,” as Purja calls it, is not merely the cold calculation of reason but the marriage of clarity, courage, and speed. In the midst of chaos, a soldier learns that to decide boldly is better than to falter endlessly. From this emerges the first part of his wisdom: that life rewards those who act with discipline, rather than those who wait until certainty is perfect.

Yet it is the second part of his saying that burns even brighter: the “willingness not to give up.” For no matter how skilled a soldier or climber may be, storms will rise, plans will fail, and strength will falter. The difference between the one who succeeds and the one who falls is not the absence of hardship, but the refusal to surrender. This refusal, Purja names a positive mindset—a choice to see beyond the present pain into the horizon of victory. Such a mindset does not erase suffering, but it transforms suffering into fuel.

History provides luminous examples of this same truth. Consider Ernest Shackleton, who led his men through the Antarctic ice when their ship, the Endurance, was crushed and all hope seemed lost. For months they fought hunger, cold, and despair. Shackleton’s unyielding positive mindset, his refusal to let even one man give up, carried the entire crew across the frozen wastes and brought them home alive. His story, like Purja’s, reminds us that the greatest victories are born not of ease, but of endurance.

But we must understand: a positive mindset is not blind optimism, nor foolish denial of danger. It is the disciplined resolve to face the truth and still choose to believe in possibility. It is what allows the climber, halfway up the world’s tallest peak, battered by wind and exhausted of breath, to take one more step instead of turning back. It is what allows the soldier to continue fighting when the odds promise only defeat. This kind of mindset is both shield and weapon—it protects against despair and strikes against impossibility.

The lesson for us is clear: life is not so different from the training grounds of the special forces. We too are tested daily—by disappointment, by failure, by loss, by fear. If we wait for the perfect path, we will never move. If we surrender when hardship rises, we will never reach the summit of our dreams. But if we cultivate a positive mindset, we can transform each trial into strength, each obstacle into a stepping stone, each defeat into preparation for a greater triumph.

Practical steps flow from this wisdom. When faced with a decision, do not shrink from it—make it boldly, then commit to carrying it through. When exhaustion tempts you to stop, whisper to yourself: “Not yet. One more step.” Surround yourself with those who embody resilience, and learn from their spirit. Train your body to endure, and your mind to see beyond the immediate pain. Above all, nurture the flame of a positive mindset, for it is the light that will guide you through storms and darkness.

So remember Nirmal Purja’s teaching: the true strength of the soldier, the climber, the leader is not only in skill, but in the will. To decide with clarity, and to refuse to give up—that is the heart of the positive mindset. Carry it within you, and you will not only endure life’s fiercest trials, but you will rise above them, standing as a beacon to all who still wander in the valleys of despair.