What lessons from military special operations soldiers have you taken away for yourself?

During my basic training in the German army, my company was led by a first lieutenant of a special reconnaissance unit. One night I had to cross a railway line with a small group and this guy was watching us from the other side. It went terrible: I made a lot of noise while moving over the gravel and the railroad tracks and I could be heard and seen from hundreds of meters. The officer stopped me, looked me in the eyes and whispered:

“Less is sometimes more”

and then he showed me a different technique, which was of course much better than my shitty approach had been.

German Army recruits during basic training

This officer would later become a commanding officer of the German special forces (Kommando Spezialkraefte) in Afghanistan and he also wrote a book about some of his missions there.

If one had to put into a few words what special forces are all about, then “less is sometimes more” hits the nail on the head: special operations forces work in small units and only for a very limited time, but have a huge impact.

“Less is sometimes more” is also very practical advice in civilian life. We often try to overdo things and it’s sometimes a good idea to take a step back to achieve a better result by approaching a problem with less zeal and eagerness.