40 percent rule

Last updated Nov 21, 2021

The first day living with the SEAL, he asked Itzler to jump up on the pull-up bar and do as many pull-ups as he could. Itzler completed 8. He then asked him to jump back up and do it again. This time it was 6. He asked him to jump up a third time, and Itzler squeaked out just a few. The SEAL then told him they weren’t leaving until Itzler completed 100 more. At first Itzler’s reaction was typical; there was no way he’d be able to do that, or it would take all day. But the SEAL explained to him that we are all capable of achieving more than we think we are. This was Itzler’s first introduction to the 40% Rule, a rule that this SEAL and his brothers lived by.

The 40% Rule is the idea that when our mind is telling us to quit, that our body has actually only used up 40% of it’s potential. Think of this in terms of a workout; how many times have we been deep in a long grinder and that doubt begins to creep into the back of our head? Our mind begins to tell us to slow down or that it’s time to stop. According to the SEAL, at this point we are only 40% used up – and we are still capable of more. He explained that this extra 60% doesn’t come from the mind or from the body; it comes from our will.

The general idea is that the human brain is built to stop us from overusing our bodies to minimize the risk of damage and overuse of energy. So when we hear that little voice in our head saying “I can’t do more”, we’re not even close to our actual limits, and if we need to, we can continue pushing. The exact percentage of how much harder we really can push ourselves will vary greatly between individuals, the task being performed, the daily state of the body and mind and other variables.

In other words, don’t take that 40% as an iron-clad rule, but more of a guideline.

• You won’t limit yourself by giving up early while doing something unpleasant
• You’ll reduce overthinking in certain situations
• You’ll find that your comfort zone is quite far away from your actual limits
• It will help you take control of yourself and get stuff done

• Pushing yourself to your limits is always dangerous
  • There’s a reason why our brain tries to stop us before we’re even close
• We’re not machines, we need rest and self-care to be able to push ourselves hard
  • And even then, we shouldn’t be pushing ourselves that hard more than on rare occassions
• It also takes time for our body and mind to adapt to that level of hard work

• Navy SEAL Has a ‘40 Percent Rule’ And It’s the Key to Overcoming Mental Barriers | Big Think
• Is The Navy Seal 40% Rule Bull Shit? Here’s What Science Shows

• 5-second-rule