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Ant Middleton’s five tips are to set achievable goals, eliminate distractions, practise consistent discipline, embrace a positive mindset and assess obstacles before choosing how to tackle them. He shared them ahead of the 2024 publication of Military Mindset; they are personal advice, not a proven treatment or guaranteed formula for success.
Middleton, known to many viewers as an SAS Australia star, is a former Royal Marines Commando and has served with 9 Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers and the Special Boat Service, according to his official website. The five tips below were reported by Zach Margolius in PerthNow on 15 August 2024, in a preview of Middleton’s book Military Mindset, published by Hodder and Stoughton on 24 October 2024.
1. Set achievable goals
Break a large ambition into smaller milestones. Middleton’s caution is that the steps should not be so ambitious that they become difficult to sustain: “The only rule is: don’t make them too big.”
In practice, identify the next manageable action that moves you towards the larger goal. A broad aim such as getting fitter becomes more usable when translated into a specific next step you can complete and build on.
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2. Eliminate distractions
Focus on the immediate objective, especially when preparing for a challenge such as a meeting or interview. Middleton’s point is not that confidence alone will do the work: self-belief needs to be matched by dedication to the task.
“Eliminate distractions” is an aspiration, not a promise that anyone can switch off every worry or emotion on demand. Where attention keeps being pulled away, concentrate on the next task you can control rather than treating distraction as a personal failure.
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3. Be consistent in your discipline
Middleton describes discipline as doing the small things you know are necessary, including when you do not feel like doing them. He stresses attention to detail: “Discipline is about paying attention to the details, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.”
His example of keeping a ceremonial uniform immaculate belongs to military life. The everyday lesson is simply to follow through on useful routines; adopting military standards or routines is not necessary.
4. Embrace a positive mindset
Middleton argues that a positive outlook can help people face difficult moments, citing recovery from injury and fear of crowds as examples. This is his perspective, not evidence that positivity alone resolves injury, anxiety or other health conditions.
A constructive outlook may be part of how someone approaches a challenge, but it should not replace appropriate medical or mental-health care.
5. Negotiate obstacles strategically
Rather than reacting immediately, pause to understand what is in the way, gather information and choose a route forward. Middleton puts it this way: “Take your time to size up an obstacle in your path.”
His military metaphor is to consider whether to go over, through, under or around an obstacle. In ordinary problem-solving, that means first clarifying the constraint, then deciding whether to address it directly, find another route, or change the plan.
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Make effort sustainable
In a separate Channel 4 Press interview from 3 January 2019, Middleton gave recruits a related caution: work hard, but use your judgment, pace yourself, listen and own mistakes. “Pace yourself. Give yourself a fighting chance to sustain yourself.” That advice complements the five tips: persistence is more useful when it is thoughtful and sustainable, rather than effort for its own sake.
Where the advice comes from
The five tips are Middleton’s personal guidance, presented in the context of Military Mindset. The cited reporting and author material establish what he advises; they do not provide studies or statistics showing that the tips reliably improve performance or mental health. Readers looking for the source in book form can find Military Mindset among the titles listed on Middleton’s official website.
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