By: Matt Spaid
I still remember everything very clearly.
We had just pulled up to a wreck, where a garbage truck had crushed a patrol car. Officer trapped inside. Agonal breathing. Time was of the essence.
In that moment, we didn’t rise to some heroic new level.
We fell to the level we had trained to…the same techniques, teamwork, and problem-solving we’d drilled over and over again. How did we know what to do? Because we had trained a lot on vehicle extrication. Taught multiple classes to the volunteers in the department. If you want to improve on a skill, one of the best things you can do is teach a class.
I sometimes wonder, what if I hadn’t taught these classes? What if we didn’t go out to the junk yard where we had cars to cut up and had days where we only used hand tools? Or, if we had an environment where when you messed up we made fun of you? Would anyone want to train?
It’s okay to make a mistake in training. It’s not okay to be afraid to make a mistake at all. That’s why it’s TRAINING. It’s where you are supposed to mess up and learn. This way, when you’re performing in a real emergency, you’re prepared.
The only reason our “floor” was high enough to save that officer’s life was because of the environment we trained in. We set a standard and I was sure to train my guys to meet it. I learned this from the Marine Corps. “Sweat more in training, bleed less in war.” We had leaders and peers who pushed us to think, adapt, and execute under pressure. It’s stressful…but it’s supposed to be. If your training is constantly “death by power point” with no hands on, then you are doing yourself and the community you serve a disservice.
This is why when I coach others to lift, I tell them to visualize success before even approaching the bar. If you think you’re going to fail, then you’re probably right…and if you think others WANT you to fail, well…then you’re not going to perform as well.
Why a Positive Training Environment Wins Every Time
There is something called the Pygmalion Effect. It’s the psychological phenomenon where higher expectations lead to higher performance. When you’re surrounded by people who believe you’re capable of more, you tend to prove them right. This goes for training in the gym and training on the job.
The opposite is just as real. It’s called the Golem Effect. Low expectations lead to low results. If your training culture tolerates sloppiness, mocks mistakes, or sets the bar low, your floor will stay dangerously low, and when you need it most, that floor will fail you.
Training is more than going through the motions. It’s about creating a culture where:
- Failure is feedback, not shame.
- Peers push each other up, not down.
- Expectations are high and backed by genuine belief.
In that kind of environment, mistakes in training become lessons. You get better, faster. You build trust in your team. You raise your floor.
In the Marines, during our workup for Afghanistan, we were clearing trenches and bunkers on a range. One of my guys threw his grenade short… and for the record, “frags” go out and “grenades” are coming in.
You don’t want to hear “GRENADE, GRENADE, GRENADE!” But when we did, we reacted instantly. Moved back and jumped down for cover. The grenade went off, but we had moved far enough to be safe.
We got up and continued clearing the bunker.
Afterward, we had an after-action review. The Marine learned from the mistake and performed better next time.
Mistakes happen, especially in high-stress environments and especially with something like live grenades. People get nervous. Does that mean you should never throw one in training? Certainly not. It means you get the experience, you work through the nerves, and next time, you do it right.
And that happens when mistakes are met with positive coaching, not humiliation.
Believe me, you don’t want to be the guy that loses someone simply because you didn’t train. If we hadn’t pushed each other to improve and continued to learn and train, we may have completely failed on that extrication with the garbage truck and police officer.
Ceiling vs. Floor
You need to push your ceiling, or your peak performance, so that you can perform better . But in real-world high-stress moments, it’s your floor that will save you.
If your environment is strong, your floor rises with you. If you train with others, their floor can help catch you. But, if it’s toxic, then it keeps you weak.
Build the kind of training environment where people know you expect more from them and you believe in them enough to help them get there.
Push your ceiling for the strength.
Raise your floor for survival.