Cognitive Dissonance XVI
Drill Instructor's Attitude Adjuster

The subtitle, “Drill Instructors’ Attitude Adjuster” seemed like a strong one for this piece. However, this writer believed he could not change it and maintain the integrity of this series of essays. The title caused me some dissonance. I wondered why I chose it. As I’ve written before, this series of essays is an ever evolving work. After editing each part of the series, I decide, sometimes impulsively, upon a subtitle for the next

Here I sat dealing with cognitive dissonance. On one hand, I was bothered by the idea that I did not believe that I knew enough about drill instructors. How could I write anything about what they do to adjust the attitudes of recruits? On the other hand, I wondered if anyone could relate or would even want to relate to the idea. This caused some stress. It was painful. I wanted to escape the pain. So I started writing. This essay is a compilation of different writings I’ve previously penned, research about Drill Instructors and the ideas I’ve used to ‘sew’ them together. It has served to help me overcome the dissonance I experienced at the start of this endeavor. And it helped me to command some negative thought soldiers to line up, single file and return to their barracks.

Welcome to Boot Camp
The Drill Instructors (DIs) are the first people the new recruits see when they enter basic training and they remain with the recruits through training until graduation. Recruits are individually and intensely directed, instructed and commanded by their DIs from the early a.m. bugle call of reveille until the bugler sounds out Taps. The DI has the greatest influence on the recruits during their transformation from ordinary citizens to soldiers.

The DI is a teacher and guidance counselor. Sometimes the DI is a father figure or brother. To qualify as a Drill Instructor, one must pass rigorous performance standards. They must complete an intense training course. The Drill Instructor serves as a role model for the recruits by their presence, manner, and professional knowledge. It is their sole responsibility to take people and transform them into basically trained soldiers for the branch of service they are enlisted in. They are literally with the recruits 24 hours a day.

The DI is trained to teach and train the recruits to the best of their ability. Their goal is to mature them into smartly disciplined, physically fit, basically trained troops. They thoroughly indoctrinate their recruits in love of their branch of military service and their country. They demand the highest standards of morality, personal conduct, and professional skill.

The DI teaches a sharp focus by being focused. Recruits are trained to be mentally tough. This is absolutely necessary. Self-confidence is a must. It permeates all aspects of the recruits’ transition. They learn a lot about themselves. They learn how to capture their mind, harness willpower and exert their control over themselves to do anything. They learn that they have more heart than they might ever realize otherwise.

Drill Instructors teach the recruits discipline through dress code, physical fitness, mental alertness and a host of other means. Drill is an important part of military life. Discipline, smartness and teamwork are goals which are achieved through the process of basic training. Drill is the most efficient way of moving a number of people from one place to the next. Instead of having a disorganized group of individuals ambling slowly, Drill produces an organized, efficient team with a distinctly defined function and direction. It is an extremely good exercise in teamwork. This is how attitudes are adjusted. Instead of focusing only on the ‘self, ’ recruits learn how to think as a team.

Drill teaches recruits to follow directions. Every member of the team relies on the next person for timing to get it right. There are no individuals in a team. Everyone performs the techniques, turns and movements in exactly the same time. All of this teaches recruits to set aside their personality, indeed, their individuality, for the group. The confidence, mental fortitude and discipline become lifelong assets. Honor, courage, problem solving and commitment are also products of the Drill Instructors’ attitude adjustment process.

Drill Instructors are firm. However, friendliness has been introduced as a means to moderate firmness. The drill instructor always sets the example for the recruits. That includes everything from having the best uniform, to having exemplary conduct and demeanor both in and out of uniform. Instructors must be loyal to the course. They must appear to have a unified front in all aspects, at all times. The Drill Instructor’s voice is one of the key ingredients to his effectiveness. Commands must be delivered “from the gut” without wavering. This is another attitude adjustment tool.

Motivation of recruits is the most important aspect of successful drill instruction. In this context, motivation can be defined as giving the recruits the chance to succeed to their fullest potential. A drill instructor accomplishes this by appearing enthusiastic. They set high standards at the start of the course and relax them slowly so that the trainees can gain a sense of accomplishment. In short, the Drill Instructor is the commander of the recruits from the start of day one through their graduation ceremony.
 

You-The DI
Drill Instruction is standardized using common sense, simple interpretations of the principles. DIs must have a positive attitude, be sincere and have dignity. To be effective, the instructor must maintain direct, personal contact with the trainee. This is an easy task when you are the Drill Instructor adjusting your own thought soldiers’ attitudes. You will speak directly to your troops when using the power statements.

When reciting power statements, use proper and varying volume and pitch to emphasize teaching points and enunciate your words clearly. No need to degrade yourself when a setback occurs. Move through set backs with dignity, knowing that you are learning to overcome the sentries stationed at the gate to your thought garden. Cultivating and using a positive attitude becomes easier with practice. This is where repetition comes into play. Like Drill Instruction prepares men and women to overcome the enemy as a team, so will your personal Drill Instruction train your thought soldiers to perform for you.

With the tips I’ve provided throughout the Cognitive Dissonance series of essays, you can follow a standardized set of instructions. Unlike military drill instruction, the tips contained within these pages are not regulations. Instead, think of them as a map or as guidelines to aid you in the process of overcoming the dissonance causing enemy of your peace of mind.

You must remain firm all through this process. Wavering is a sure sign of weakness that will be exploited to your disadvantage. It will serve to undermine and slow the process. When you find yourself struggling, wavering or weary; Stop, rest and regroup. Find a source of motivation outside of yourself. After resting, get back into the battle with renewed energy. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Know that with persistence, you will succeed. And carry on.

Become committed to the process of cleaning and clearing your thought garden. Muster the courage each day to do what it takes to embed new ideas into your garden. Use the strategies you have learned to solve this problem. Challenge conventional wisdom. It is honorable to make positive changes happen from within your thought garden.

Hitting the Ball Outside of the Box
Not long ago, people who experienced paraplegia were limited in their mobility device options. The cumbersome, chrome steel “dinosaurs” as I’ve heard them described, were their only option.

 

For decades, no one even considered other possibilities. However, along came a man who liked to be able to stand upright after experiencing an accident that left him with paraplegia. He decided to think outside of the box so-to-speak. I heard him in an interview tell of how people who were still able bodied asked him why he wanted to stand. They were locked into patterns of cumbersome, chromed steel. He wanted a mobility device that could navigate through small doorways and that would allow him to present himself eye to eye with other human beings. And he wanted to golf. The conventional wheelchairs made golfing impossible.

Instead of buckling under the dissonance and accepting the limitations as they existed, he challenged the conventional “wisdom” and created the Hi-Rider mobility device. Instead of adapting the whole world to paraplegia, he adapted paraplegia to the world. Now he uses his idea to reduce barriers to his full, productive living in society. And he uses it to play golf.

The company that bought his idea has improved upon the design and accessories tremendously by listening to the end users. There are approximately 54 million Americans with disabilities. It has been estimated that 35% of people with disabilities are interested in playing golf. The major golfing organizations estimate that if 50% of them begin playing golf and play one round, it would create more than $344 million in greens fees and cart rentals. Talk about incentive to think outside of the box!

The National Alliance for Accessible Golf was created in July 2001 to address some of the policy issues, increase awareness and encourage participation of people with disabilities in the game of golf. The Alliance brings together leaders in the golf industry, representatives from disability organizations and golfers with disabilities. No one would have dreamed this possible only a couple of years ago. Someone changed the attitudes of the entire golfing industry. They used inclusion strategies, overcame obstacles, and successfully won the battle. I would be willing to bet that they had to overcome a great deal of cognitive dissonance during the research and development process.

The vision of the Alliance for Accessible Golf is such that “through the game of golf individuals with disabilities become actively engaged in the social fabric of a community, and derive health benefits that improve quality of life.” What better way to break barriers? This is a powerful example of how overcoming cognitive dissonance can improve the lives of millions of people with disabilities throughout the world.

Traveling Light
A hang gliding expert was left with paraplegia after a hang gliding accident. She was also restricted by the cumbersome, heavy chromed steel monster chairs with wheels. This caused massive amounts of dissonance. She fought it by commanding a combination of her experiences.

 

Using her experience with lightweight gliders, she approached manufacturers with an idea for lightweight chairs that improved independence and mobility. Together, they created lightweight chairs with wheels that greatly improve the lives of people who use them.

 

My sister-in-law uses one of these chairs with wheels. She was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot in 1992. The lightweight chair helped her complete her Master’s program by reducing the barriers to her full participation in her schooling. She is able to wheel herself to her car, slide herself in and fold up the chair and store it in her back seat while she drives using hand controls.

When she found herself sitting out in the aisle during graduation ceremony as a well-known, self-proclaimed disability rights advocate gave the Keynote address, she didn’t complain. Even when she had to figure out a way to get on stage to accept her diploma, she didn’t grumble.

 

The lightweight chair made it easier for her to wheel herself around to the back of the stage as the ceremony was embarrassingly halted to wait for her to find a way to get up to the staging area. And this was the school of social work of a prominent Pittsburgh University! They should know better than to hold their ceremonies in an inaccessible manner.

 

If not for her lightweight chair, she might not have been able to participate at all. She was able to overcome the dissonance caused by the violation of her civil rights through the use of this lightweight chair. It took deliberate, commanding of her thoughts to fight off the emotional disturbance caused by the dissonance. She was the DI.

Applying your DI
Maybe you didn’t care to keep your thought garden clean because you were not taught to do it. Perhaps you were systematically instructed to enlist these insidious insiders. Or maybe you do want to uproot the negative thought soldiers stationed at the gate to your thought garden, but do not know how. In any case, as you realize the need, you must begin to form mental images of the cleaning process. Imagine yourself unrestricted by physical bounds, uprooting and raking away the debris. You do not want to fail at this do you? No, you don’t, or you would not have read this far.

For example, if you want to lose weight, fight the thought soldiers that combat you. Having the extra dessert will hurt. Extra helpings are not Ok if you want to lose weight. You do not need the extra nutrition. If you believe you do, grab a vitamin. You will not burn off the extra calories. You will not get sick if you walk. Whatever the hidden soldier tells you, you are the commander, enforce your position. Dig out the supporting lies.

Remember that you have planted the negative thought soldiers. Now you are reaping the harvest. Upon your satisfactory dismantling of these thought barriers you will find it easier to drop a few pounds and you will be able to decide to diligently patrol your thought compound, indeed, your thought garden, and commend the thoughts to obey you. You have the power.
 

Next Time: Cognitive Dissonance XVII, Drill Instruction-Dissonance Reduction Through Orderly Procession

 

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