Derrick McMannus has gone through everything imaginable and survived using a skill he calls human durability. Human durability is a skill that can be learned and honed by anyone willing to put in the time and effort. It’s when the body and mind synergistically go beyond resilience to sustain optimal performance with less stress. Derrick was shot 14 times with a high-powered rifle while on active sniper duty as a counter-terrorist operative for the Australian Special Task & Rescue Forces. He managed to survive it all with a diagnosis of zero PTSD by tapping into a power that each of us has, the ability to push through life’s challenging situations.
Derrick, a special military ops officer, trained in counter-terrorism, beat the odds and survived the impossible. No, Derrick McMannus is not superhuman. He relied on what he calls human durability. The ability to train your brain to understand the reality of the situation you are about to enter and prepare for it in its cold hard reality before taking action. This ability is a teachable skill that anyone can master using the proper techniques Derrick will lay out today.
During a rescue mission in 1994, Derrick was shot 14 times. He was close to death while waiting for a rescue team to take him to the hospital. The surgeons believe the only reason he survived is he didn’t know that his heart should have given out on him. But he persevered. After two and a half years of physical therapy and three months of talking with a psychologist, Derrick was cleared for active duty, completely free of PTSD. Derrick equates his story with the way he thinks. He uses the phrase human durability to convey the ability of the mind to accept and understand what it will be going through in a very concrete way. This is a skill he believes we are all capable of, and once we learn it, it will make us stronger, tougher, and better able to deal with anything that comes our way.
The crux of this learned skill is to take every situation you will be going into, and before you go through it, think of the possibilities. The possible positive and negative outcomes. It doesn’t need to be a morbid conversation, but it should address every option. In the end, if all goes well, it’s one less thing to worry about, and if things turn out for the worst, the brain has mentally prepared for what it has to deal with. When applied to the business world, it works the same way. Take a situation, lay out the possible outcomes, know how you will handle the positives and the negatives. The positive possibilities are often overlooked, and businesses can’t manage their explosive growth, as there was no roadmap laid out. These conversations lay the foundation for trust, and trust is how every relationship, business, or personal moves ahead. It is important to have these conversations before you take action. That way, everyone has a clear understanding of what may happen.
These tough conversations give people a sense of comfort because it removes uncertainty from the decision-making process. This is important because uncertainty creates doubt, caution, and timidity. With those emotions taken out of the equation, you are left with confidence and strength when making decisions. These are the decisions that make others step back and admire you. They are the ones that change the direction of businesses and lives. As Nelson Mandela once said, “We can’t prepare for the future and secretly pretend it’s not happening.” This sentiment is at the base of human durability training. Learning to take responsibility is a four-step process. We need to take responsibility for our choices, actions, consequences (good & bad), and the future they create. This concept of accepting responsibility needs to occur before the first action is taken. Once you can master these concepts, you have mastered the skill of human durability training.
Derrick McMannus is an ordinary human who tapped into an extraordinary skill that is attainable for everyone willing to take responsibility and look at the varied outcomes prior to taking action. Join us as Derrick shares how this way of thinking saved his life so he can share his story.
In this episode:
- [2:20] Derrick shares his story of how and why he created the idea of human durability.
- [8:20] recovery is painful, but so is growth. Derrick explains why your outlook determines your future.
- [13:01] The importance of conversations discussing possibilities helps prepare you for the worst-case scenarios.
- [14:25] How human durability is applied to the workspace.
- [16:23] The different levels of comfort that come from the tough conversations that make up human durability training.
- [20:22] The responsibility paradigm and why it needs to happen before action is taken.
Watch the Interview:
Learn more and reach out:
- Website: https://humandurability.com.au/
- LinkedIn: Derrick McMannus
