Member-only story
The best way I can describe my 4 months at the FBI Academy is “coping ugly.” I got through the special agent training but it wasn’t a pretty sight. While I’m a big believer in positive thinking, I knew it was going to take more than gray matter to turn me into an athlete that could compete with my former military and law enforcement classmates.
I was in survival mode. If I didn’t pass the physical fitness requirements, I would be washed out of the Academy and my dream of becoming an FBI agent would die. The single question that haunted me every morning of training was, “How can I do this?”
At this point, my challenge was both physical and mental. I needed mental toughness to not only cope with my stress and anxiety but also to keep my eye on the goal as I struggled to develop the physical strength to pass the FIT test and graduate with my new agent classmates.
Alas, I did not graduate with my class as planned because I developed an injury and was recycled. Sent back home to rehabilitate, the stress and anxiety became even more acute as I waited out 3 months before I was given the green light to join a different new agents class.
I knew I’d need to be resilient and bounce back, but how?
