While almost everyone agrees that being capable is critical to success in life, identifying the steps you need to take to become capable can be challenging. Every person is different and has different strengths, weaknesses, and unique temperaments. Despite this, there are some facets of your life that you can focus on to start becoming more proficient. In this OA guide, we will walk you through the three aspects of being capable and the strategies you can use to supercharge these areas.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that physical fitness is the first pillar of capability. For thousands of years, an individual’s physicality was directly linked to their ability to survive in society. The fitter you were, the more you could hunt, gather, and defend your children. 

Although our days of digging for roots and fighting lions are long gone, physicality is still one of the most crucial aspects of achieving success in both the military and civilian world. Because physically capable people made better hunters, warriors, and leaders, human brains have developed to respect, admire, and follow strong individuals rather than weak ones. In other words, you might not be wrestling bears on a daily basis, but it wouldn’t hurt to look like you do! 

Being physically fit doesn't only give you the skills and abilities to save your own life and protect your family (Click Here to read our guide on the 5 Exercises that Will Save Your Life). It also gives you and those around you confidence that you can overcome obstacles and become a strong leader. Start working on your physical capability today by visiting our workouts page and starting an OA workout program.

You can’t be capable if you’re unable to take charge of your life. Leadership is about more than just barking orders and being in charge of a team. It’s about being responsible for your improvement, inspiring others, creating plans, and facilitating progress.

Like becoming physically strong and capable, developing your leadership skills takes practice and repetition. If you want to become an influential leader, start taking ownership of the situations around you. You might not be in a position of authority in all aspects of your life, but taking personal responsibility for your team’s success is a great place to start. As you begin taking charge of the world around you, people will start recognizing you as a leader and giving you more opportunities to practice your skills. 

A few leadership skills you can immediately start learning are planning missions, communicating effectively, and thinking strategically.

Your body is what moves you through life, but your mind gives you purpose and direction. You can have the most comprehensive tools, most effective weapons, and the newest technology. But if you don’t know how to use it, you will fail. 

In modern times, being knowledgeable is often synonymous with being highly educated and “book-smart.” This type of knowledge is known as “explicit knowledge” – the ability to recall facts. But if you want to be capable, there is another type of knowledge that is more important to your progress: tacit knowledge. Often referred to as “wisdom,” tacit knowledge comes from experience.

While tacit knowledge can be one of the most time-consuming types of expertise to acquire, it is also the most engaging and simple. You can start improving your tacit knowledge immediately by simply trying new things. Optimize your diet, start building discipline, or learn how to swim like a Navy SEAL (these are all things you can learn by reading OA guides)!

You can also supercharge your experience-gathering by reading books and consuming the tacit knowledge of others. If you want to join the military, start reading war manuscripts like Sun Tzu’s The Art of War or guides like the Marine Corps Warfighting Publications. 

Developing your physicality, leadership, and knowledge are the three pillars to becoming capable. If you can master these three facets of your life, you will instantly become more confident at overcoming obstacles, building relationships, and improving your life both in the military and civilian world. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to keep track of and apply these various tactics in your daily life. That’s where we come in. When you become an Operators Association member, you get your physicality, leadership, and knowledge in one place. Aspiring Operators get instant access to hundreds of SOF podcasts, an exclusive weekly accountability group, and a 900+ member community full of driven and future special operators and SOF cadre. Visit our packages page to get started today!