Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon is a trained counselor specializing in the psychology of behavior change, with certifications in motivational interviewing, solution-focused therapy, DBT, CBT, and trauma counseling.

She’s the author of numerous books and accredited nutrition, sleep, stress, and recovery courses. She is our go-to performance psych, working one-on-one with many of our clients to sharpen the mental and emotional skills needed to handle some of the toughest training courses in the world.

In this episode, we’re talking to KSD about the coaching work she does with active and aspiring operators, focusing on the central themes and patterns she often uses to help people excel in their careers and become more capable and resilient.

Learn more about working with KSD: https://www.buildingtheelite.com/performance-psych-coaching/

Follow KSD on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stumptuous

Timestamps:
00:23 Introduction to Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon
01:12 Common Themes in Special Operations Selection
03:42 Getting Distracted by Misconceptions
08:11 Paradox of High Standards While Facing Setbacks
13:36 The Vulnerability of Overthinking
18:53 The Concept of Self-Compassion
25:11 The Value of Coaching Yourself Positively
30:25 The Concept of Fun - Do it Seriously, Don't Take it Seriously
38:09 Weaving Fun into Intense Training
43:07 Appreciation of Nature and Disasters
47:03 Training That's Too Strict Can Steal Joy from Life
49:58 The Concept of Competition
54:43 What Does Neurodivergence Mean?
1:00:46 Distinguishing Between Self-Deficits or Neurological Differences
1:06:22 Behavioral Red Flags within Military Tactical Populations
1:12:36 Strategies for Those that Fall into a Neurodivergent Category
1:16:16 What is Stimming and What Does It Do?
1:18:53 The Impact of Time Spent Alone Doing Something Meaningless
1:24:44 Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon's Book Recommendations
1:26:23 Outro

SOF selection is a proving ground, where your physical, mental, and emotional raw material will be laid bare, with nothing to hide behind. It's a place where you voluntarily walk into a brutal challenge to find out if who you think you are matches who you are.

It's a way of answering a question that few people are willing to ask.

Mo Anthoine, a British mountaineer, referred to this as "feeding the rat."

Think of the "rat" as that gnawing part of you that needs challenge, risk, and uncertainty. You feel better when it's been fed.

As Anthoine put it, "I think it's because there is always a question mark about how you would perform. You have an idea of yourself and it can be quite a shock when you don't come up to your own expectations. If you just tootle along you can think you're a pretty slick bloke until things go wrong and you find you're nothing like you imagined yourself to be. But if you deliberately put yourself in difficult situations, then you get a pretty good idea of how you're going. That's why I like feeding the rat."

Everyone has a rat to feed.

You only choose how you feed it.

Dr. Daniel Cooper is a human performance and behaviour specialist who focuses on improving individual and team performance in high-pressure, high-consequence environments.

He provides a unique perspective that sits at the intersection of real-world experience, academic research, and high-performance development.

His experience encompasses over 18 years of service within the Australian Special Operations community, as well as academic studies in physiology, PhD research on performing under pressure, and current studies in neuroscience.

In addition to high-performance coaching in professional sports and personal pursuits in extreme ultra-endurance events, Daniel has also worked within law enforcement as a frontline skills trainer, assisting in the development and delivery of strategic command programs.

Follow Dr. Cooper:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-cooper-phd-3725194a/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancooper_phd/

Timestamps:

00:21 Introduction to Dr. Daniel Cooper

01:35 Where in Antarctica is Dr. Daniel Cooper Going?

02:54 What Distance Record is Dr. Cooper Going for?

03:42 What are the Logistics for a Trip to Antarctica?

04:58 What Does the Food Look Like?

07:09 Starting Weight for a Sled

08:22 Getting Out of the Special Air Service

08:49 Dr. Cooper's Area of Research

09:39 Under Pressure You Fall to the Level of Your Instructor

12:24 What Operators Do Wrong When They Become Instructors

14:32 What's Dr. Cooper's Take on the Post-Engagement Scan?

18:47 The "Rule of Pretending" in Training Exercises

23:17 "Procedure Monkey" Meaning

24:06 Letting Situations Go Wrong in Training

27:35 Balancing Adaptability, Productivity and Challenges

31:44 The Impact of Shame in Training Practices

34:58 Mental Toughness is Misunderstood

40:58 How a Unit Should View Their Team and the World Around Them

46:05 Difference Between Character and Capability

49:38 More Effective Evaluating in the Special Air Service

53:40 Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence, PCDE's

01:03:03 Linear vs Non-Linear Motor Skill Development

01:12:54 Desirable Difficulties to Train Recall Skills

01:13:53 Dr. Coopers Book Recommendation

01:14:53 Best and Worst Advice Ever Received

01:16:26 Outro