It's all about Commitment.Selection has, and always will be, a psychological struggle of will. You boys have families and jobs to go to, yet you bother your arses to run up hills all weekend without any kip, and attend evey week to get beasted stupid! Not to mention all the exams you have to pass- and all over 12 months (a long time).People fail Selection not mainly as thought because of lack of fitness (its our job to build you up) but because they give up or they get injured.Selection is relentless.Take each test as it is, one day at a time.Do not think about Continuation or even Test week- just concentrate on each bit as it comes-its good for the soul...after all why else would you subject yourself to a year of hell for a hat you never get to wear?!'When dealing with the preconceptions regarding Selection What isn't a myth is that each and every man who has passed the aptitude phase of selection has had to work harder than he ever had done before.What isn't a myth is that the successful volunteer had to focus himself, prepare and maintain his determination to succeed over a considerable length of time. It is determination and commitment that sets the SF soldier aside from his contemporaries' Do not believe half of what you read or hear- most books are about 10 years out of date. Adam Ballingers 'Quiet soldier' for example is years out of date, a whole load of courses have passed since he did it, and it has changed lots since. Courses are changed nearly every time, so just take what you read with a pinch of salt and simply get on with it.For a start it takes a lot of guts to have a go in the first place-Its better to try and fail than to fail to try! Success would depend on your ability to not only be fit, but to map read and work alone for long periods of time and have a mental strength that stays strong even when you are tired and unsure that you are in the right place, and to have the courage of your convictions to carry on. And when you find you are lost also to have the ability to carry on against the odds. Purely fitness can not be the only thing that gets you through. It is all in the belly and the fire has to be burning from day one. It is very easy to Jack! I have seen fit people who were more than capable of passing fall by the wayside. And men who you wouldn't suspect would pass get through due to their WANT to get in.As for commitment with a full time job, I would kiss goodbye to all of your holidays because if you want to pass you will need all of your holidays for the course.Don't believe the hype- anyone who has passed is no different to anyone else.They just have the drive and commitment to get in.The course will run so that it covers two financial years at work- this should then give you the option to tap into two years worth of holiday rather than just the one. People fail Selection for many reasons- one of them being commitment. Can you afford the time? Reserve selection takes 12 months.... anything can happen in 12 months, your entire family might die!!! Can you cope? Can you manage all those weekends and drill nights? Working hard to keep your job and relationship going? Train 6 days a week like an athlete for two hours a day? Then run all over the hills all weekend? And then on the Monday start all over again?Can you handle being constantly tired for twelve months? Selection is psychological- it wears you down progressivly. Its not a case of breaking you as quickly as we can, we leave that to the Paras- we want to wear you out mentally and leave you with no option but to give in! It is a fact that during that 12 months you will be hit with a least one injury and at least one family crisis and at least one work crisis.... so will you break? Outside influences are your enemy not Selection as an entity. Stop flapping about running. Running is most certainly the least of your worries. Even if you're at the back in all your runs, so what! If it looks like your going through childbirth because it hurts that much, they wont bin you!!! The DS want to see resilience. They want to see a man take it on the chin and when his body is telling him 'no more' they want to see his mind tell his body 'fuck you, you'll go until I tell you to stop!!!' The DS aren't stupid- they know who the bullshitters are, who the racing snakes are and who the lads are who try and try again and again are. Finally- Believe in yourself.Do not psyche yourself out into thinking 'I cannot do this- its too hard' just take each event as it comes, and expect more. Do not worry about Test week or endurance ... worry about them when they get there. Live for the moment- If you don't you will psyche yourself out.Ring your local unit for current information