What To Do If You Don't Know What To Do. Jocko Willink. 

I’m in the 4th year of caring for my wife with dementia. The only acceptable way out is staying the course. I’m here because I promised to be here, for better or for worse.

"Failure when you are ALL IN, is not the same as the Failure of not Trying".

I just got out of detox from methadone. BELIEVE ME I did NOT want to get out of bed..but here I am at work, feeling like shit and going thru the motions. Stay strong y’all ✊

This video was recommended to me as i was shitting my pants on the subway

Everyone have a great work week! God bless all of Ya's ✌️

I’ve been working on my business for 25 years, no loan, & I have a handicap, (No SSI.)lots of suffering. I even lost my Son & daughter through the crooked family court system. I recently have made some serious advancements and the years of doing the work behind the scenes is starting to pay off. The Most High formed me to be a man built for these last days. Constant improvement, & never give up, no surrender.

"There's a way to win, and sometimes you have to take a loss to win." This has been true across so many contexts in my life, between interpersonal relationships, escaping at 17 to survive, and in business. A tactical loss led to a strategic win, and I got to fight another day. And thankfully, I'm still standing today.

A phrase that's always stuck with me is "learn to recognize when the only way out is through".

I’ve found action cures anxiety which then reveals answers you can’t think of pre-action. Also, I wasn’t in the military, but my Vietnam veteran father taught me how to do an L shaped ambush in my sand box as a kid. He said the important thing was letting the first vehicles/people through before you open up. I used it years later in a paintball match in college when we were defending a path in a forest. Placed my guys in front and along the left side. Wiped out the other team in seconds.

Thank You, Jocko. Going into battle later this week.... Divorce Court... 41 years to end like this?? I'm being told it's going in my favor, but nobody wins this. I am and have been looking to God, he has sustained me; but i wasn't raised for this. Your words give me last- minute positive thoughts. I will survive. Thank you 👍

‘Do something, even if it is wrong’. -Army adage

It's called "iterative decision making" Keep making small steps, gather intel to make an informed decision, make the next small step. Don't marry ideas, plans, or schedules Be ok with setbacks and failures along the way This is how you learn what to do over time "Plans are useless, but planning is everything" "Well-being is realized by small steps, but is truly no small thing"

Zugzwang in chess is basically: You're FORCED to make a move, but every move you make worsens your position even more. In essence, you're stuck between a rock and a hard place.

to quote the cheshire cat. alice: which way is it? cat: that depends very much on which way you want to go. alice: i don't know where I'm going. cat: then it doesn't really matter which way you pick! but, if i were you, I'd visit the mad hatter. alice: oh, i don't know.. cat: you could also consider the march hare? of course, he's mad too. alice: i don't want to go among mad people! cat: oh you can't help that... most everyone around here's mad. you might notice, I'm not all there myself...

Hey Jocko, thanks for all the encouragement and positivity. And for your service. We benefit from experience we would never want to live.

I’ve reach my breaking point. I don’t want to do live this life endlessly chasing dopamine anymore. It’s time to change.

"Take one on the chin and prove as an example of how you are going take one on the chin" YOU HAVE NO IDEA how hard is that. But man I felt that

Acceptance and have peace with your choices regardless of what it ends up to be.

i am german but i had to read the comments to understand "Zugzwang" 🤣🤣🤣

It is these situations that reveal (or expose?) one's true character. You have to respond authentically... Almost like a reflex of your soul. Any hesitation or reluctancy towards your "core truth" = failure.

It always made me laugh when we'd be in a situation at work and it's picking the lesser of two bad options and my bosses would go "Is there a risk?" I'd be like "yeah, there's a risk going to the john in the morning." Some days you get not great options. Just the way it goes. Some times that's your doing, some times it's not. You have to be pragmatic about the lemons you're given, and if you're given turds instead of lemons you'd better plant a lemon tree.

I NEEDED to hear this. Thank you!

I believe there's a term called "rim rocked". In rock climbing it's a situation where you're stuck and can't go up or down. A situation to obviously avoid. I think it's a good metaphor to apply to life. Always keep options open.

I've been thought many fire fights in the last five years with life. I've won every last one of them with ease. Every time i get nervous, i hear Jocko say "relax, formulate a plan". Works every time!

Great insights on turning a bad day around. Mishaps can be a source of innovation. A 'bad' day can reveal gaps in your processes, which, when addressed, can improve you.

Thank you for never self censoring and simply saying ‘the Muj.’

Jocko is always on putting great energy in the air. #GetBackUpMotivation

I just stumbled upon this and it reminded me of what I just went through in my personal life... it became a war of attrition, taking hits on every side, internally going beyond the boundaries of winning and losing, not seeing any light, relying on my imagination just to find reasons to keep going, inch by inch I realized the best way to for me was to aim high, because the only other option was suicide.. 😢 but some fucking how I found inspiration and just put grip on every detail I could muster... after several months I started gaining traction again.. I made it through, I now know I'm much more focused on the battles ahead.. its fight or die at rare times in life. Always choose to fight!

These videos always seem to be relevant. Thankyou

i am at that spot right now and have no clue what to do....and i hate it with every fiber of my being! I am tired of upheaval i want stability please!

Thank You Jocko 🥋

"Better to win a hundred battles with the mind than one by attrition" - Me probably.

Exactly what i needed to hear

needed to hear this today!

God bless you; I love those moments when you bring some light into my darkness 🩶

Thank you!

needed this today

1:59 'The primary thing to do is to pay attention to your surroundings _____ ' Being present, takes practice; especially if one has built habits of escape and distraction; sometimes because of unresolved guilt, shame, trauma etc. There is an inward heart and spirit journey with God that brings healing & hope and helps one face the outer things through the dynamic of coming into unity with Him.

echo immediately remembering the arm lock, both amusing and a great emphasis to his point

There’s always a way to win👊

I needed to hear this right now at this moment!

Step 0- be aware and work to avoid losing situations Step 1- accept reality Step 2- reframe the situation and find the positive and challenging Step 3- always think long term Step 4- expand your thinking and try to do something unexpected Step 5- don't give up

yes! not giving up is a win

Zugzwang...your pronunciation is so funny. 🙂 greetings from germany

Absolutely priceless.

isnt echo just the sweetest?

Good & bad are opposing points of view. Intent, is the line that divides the two,.. what someone perceives as bad, may well be goodness in its purest form to another. Good quality vid (applause)

Thanks

Good Words

Compound word.

Perspective!

Yes, I did this once to win a chess game. A small Indian boy was crushing me in an end game and there was a group of people around us watching, I prayed 'Please don't let me loose to a small boy in front of all these people', and then a strange choice seemed to present itself, and I did it, not knowing where it was going, then played the game with the seemingly inevitable ending, but then not even realizing it, I check mated him. It was brilliant, not consciously, it was subconscious and everyone clapped and started shaking my hand. The organizer came up and told me it was a good game. My best game coming out of inevitable failure.

dude this video helps a lot

😂 Zugzwang, dude that pronounciation 😂

0:50 Camera angle almost made me drop my phone in the toilet.

Thanks guys you helped me think my way out of it. Jujitsu philosophy for the win yet again

Loss can be turning point to the big win. The win will lead to loss. Play the infinite game. Play the long game. This makes the short game loss a stepping stone to the victory in the bigger game. Edit. The strangest loss is the loss thats actually a victory because it ends conflict and adversarial positioning creating strong alliances with understanding. Often pride and misunderstanding prevents this victory because the idiots who made the plan created a mess of mistakes for whatever reason and people are unable to recognize their sunk costs are sunk costs. But the moment that they discard the written script for the factual reality... there is no loss. Only confirmation of the situation made by confirmed testing and then recognizing the true situation. Which then makes the sunk costs a investment which tested the value of opposition and alteration of positioning allowing for correct outcomes creates value. Confirmed value as shown by testing and statistics. Self deception and propaganda are powerful determinants. Reality and adaptation to reality are even more powerful and useful.

I missed the first 2 minutes of this thinking about the pants shitting comment. I don't know what I would do in that situation. Been there though. It's a character builder for sure. I hope it worked out for you brother.

Sit back and look at your position and pay attention don't blunder hope for the best and capitalize on any mistakes you can exploit

Jocko helped me get outta bed 😅

Sabotage yourself so you can take a step back. Pause for a moment, and them take a good look around and get a better vantage point of what is going on.

Can anyone please share the link to the “contrarian podcast” mentioned? Tks

Forced to make a bad move? Good!

Perspective change.

2:34 2:52 3:28 Look for opportunities 4:00Benefits 4:20 Think strategically 5:12 Do something unexpected 7:15 8:40 sub 9:00 Assault 9:45 How much risk is there? 10:30 Theres ways to win 11:20 If you sometimes accept offers unknowingly, you accidentaly put yourself in bad positions

"Positive sacrifice" at 3:40. "Make sure you are thinking from a strategic perspective:.... at 4:30 "Look to do something unexpected." at 5::39 "There are ways to win; find a way." at 10:37.

2 out of the 12 minutes were worth it

If you don't know what to do next, just charge forward and cry "Leeerooy Jenkinss...!!"

Mr. Jocko, Mr. Echo sirs, on the RNC thing, Jon Fitch was a master of getting out of locked in rear naked chokes ... if i remember correctly

If there are ways to win then you must know what winning entails.

Tks jocko. Always 04 choices, but in a short or lacking situation... what is the limit between "lesser of evils" and "preemptive attack"? Godspeed.

Took me a bit to figure out he is saying "Zugzwang" in the beginning :D As a native German speaker...

I recently got blindsided at work with the information that my supervisor is moving to a new position and my coworker and I will have to run the office. It's a customer service type atmosphere so we can't just get up and go to the bathroom. We have to ask someone to watch our front desk. Someone who won't be able to help anyone. They will just sit here to tell people that someone that can help them will be back

Just make a decision at that point because no matter your in the same situation to where even no decision is a decision

G'day Mr. Jocko, I'd appreciate your opinions on the current trend in b j.j. on butt skooting around trying to get the other to buy into their strategy.

00:50 👌👌👌 3:30 Opportunities 4:20 Strategy vs Tactical 5:20 The Unexpected 10:45 Take Ls to Win 11:30 Summary

Another concept i heard you talk about that comes from chess is desperado say your piece is traped well you can at least go out with taking a pawn not just give it away for free

The whole movie called Mr. Nobody with Jared Leto is about Zugzwang.VERY GOOD movie!!! Must watch

Yep!! I’m there!

Did they change the colouring or lighting? It looks great.

Sounds like an Anthony B song. Zug Zwang, zugga zugga zang, Rasta. A canonical Dancehall beat. Like the Smokey tea. It’s got this swinging beat. Nice high hat punctuation.

Pretty cool to see you using chess terminology

Jocko knows, I am stucked at too many careers entry points and jocko saved me.

What should Haiti do? I'm so clueless. And I'm worried about our southern insular buddies.

When life fucks you ; change the position

"How do we go to mars?" "Its like jiujitsu, you remember that time i did a headlock"

make a move even you didn't think about 😅 sounds funny but I believe it is a very valid solution for situations when you are psychologically zugzwanged, so you can move yourself out from a thought pattern or environment that became comfortable.

I totally agree about being unpredictable. That's what my boxing trainer taught me as a kid. I use that strategy in life. Where I am from the rivers are filled with man eating crocodiles. So you never want to go wash at the same time because crocodiles are good at studying the timing of things they want to kill. If you go down to the river to wash every day at the same time one day that crocodile is going to time you and be right there to eat you. So I never feel comfortable being predictable. One way to do that is to make your adversary believe you are weaker than you are until the right moment when you surprise them with your strength and defeat them. But as for me I don't like fighting with my adversaries. Instead what I do is convince them to destroy themselves. How I do that is make them be blinded by their own pride. This works very well with people that have inferiority complexes. Say and do things that will motivate them to prove to you how great they are and eventually they will destroy themselves in the process. In any case, I'm a big believer in the style of fighting without fighting. I like to use this example. If you're surrounded on all sides by people that are moving in to kill you what do you do? You have no one to help you. How do you survive in a situation like that? Well, the only way that I know of is that you got to start talking to them all and you want to try and convince as many of them as you can that it's not a good idea to kill you because in doing so they'll end up killing themselves. You don't have to convince them all but if you can convince at least some of them than maybe you can get them to start fighting against themselves. This leads me to my belief when it comes to warfare in general. I don't need to put a bullet in his head. Instead all I need to do is convince the enemy that it is in their best interest to become my friend. I grew up in an all white community with some very dangerous people. I'm not all white as you can see from my photo. How did I survive? Well, I became friends with those dangerous people. They accepted me as one of them. On the other hand I've lived for twenty years in one of the most dangerous countries in the World. I live in population. How do I do that? In the same way. The interesting thing about the country I'm in now is that I live in an all black community and as you can see from my photo I'm not all black. How do I survive? Well, I become accepted as one of them.

'Don't allow yourself to be painted into a corner,' can be applied directly to hog farming, and was in fact one of the first lessons learned upon the piggies growing up into big-breed-hogs. The hog way of saying is, 'don't feed yourself into a corner,' and to anyone who has never dropped a fifty-pound bag of feed down for animals between 300-400 pounds... yeah just run with this... what happens if your back is to the corner and you dump the feed bag? it is not pretty. Kinda like how our Congress operates. Love the Jocko podcast! Can you please both go to Congress to fight for the people!?

👍🏻

I'm thinking of firefighting in a mayday situation. Options will vanish fast. Going out a window on the second floor or higher in a flashover situation. I've trained for it but man I don't want to find myself there.

👍

It's also a chess term and it means no matter what move you make its the same outcome

if i ever roll with jocko im going straight for the heel hook

1) AVOID future problems by anticipate them 2) make Long-Term strategic move, not Short-Term tactical [[this needs unpacking to explain it]] 3) get creative, surprise with the unexpected

This mindset or way of thinking is very relevant when investing your money.

How does it feeel 2 b uh Seal?

"Zugzwang" in German means more like "tight spot" or like being "in a pinch", not necessarily a "compulsion" to move.

I'm still on plan A. I never have no moves left.

Minimize risk, or maximize opportunities