Page 106 - JSOM Spring 2018

An Ongoing Series

Spiritual Fitness

An Essential Component of Human Performance Optimization

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Danielle Worthington, PhD* ; Patricia Deuster, PhD, MPH *
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ABSTRACT
Spirituality is a key interweaving and interacting domain, and others, coping with death, and many other aspects of human
an integral component for maintaining Special Operations life and performance. Even though the ways in which spiritu-
Forces readiness; however, it remains an under-researched and ality and religion have influenced these traditions vary widely,
likely one of the most poorly understood domains of Preser- the consistent appearance of these concepts throughout the
vation of the Force and Family and Total Force Fitness ini- past indicates that spirituality is worth attending to as part of
tiatives. Although there are numerous factors that contribute the human experience.
to spiritual performance or spiritual fitness, core values and
value-directed living are essential. An initial step toward spiri- The presence of this influence is not confined to history and
tual performance or fitness is developing core values and iden- remains active in current American culture, society, and daily
tity, followed by a second step toward spiritual performance functioning: 89% of individuals reported in a recent Gallup
or fitness, which is developing an increased awareness and poll that they believe in a higher power. Year after year, these
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deeper understanding of those values. This process of develop- polls consistently show that more than half of Americans be-
ing core values and identity, and building awareness can be lieve religion is “very important” and approximately 75% re-
enhanced through cognitive flexibility and agility (psychologi- port religion is at least “fairly important” in their lives. When
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cal performance domain). This article explains the importance expanding the scope beyond religion, it is common to find ad-
of “spirituality” as a component of Special Operations Forces ditional individuals expressing themselves as spiritual, but not
performance and describes approaches to enhancing perfor- religious. This may reflect our attempts to explain the world
mance through various spiritual activities, including mind- around us and find meaning and order in those things we can-
fulness, meditation, and prayer. These three practices can be not explain. 2
adapted and modified to be more vertical or more horizontal
in their application. The need and process of finding meaning and explanations
have been referred to as the “cognitive imperative” or “the hu-
Keywords: spirituality; human performance optimization; man need to impose order on the world by mental processes,”
Special Operations Forces and may be part of developing beliefs and motivations to join
a collective group and adopt the values of particular units.
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The process of value and belief development is multilayered
for SOF, who have both individual and group sets of beliefs
Introduction
and values as members of SOF teams and units. Although
Optimizing human performance of Special Operations Forces spirituality has been defined in many ways, beliefs, purpose
(SOF) is fundamental to the success of missions, whether it is and meaning, belonging, and values are consistently central
improving physical strength or memory skills, or developing aspects of understanding spiritual fitness and reflect the ways
emotional intelligence to enhance communication skills. In ad- in which spirituality affects human performance.
dition to physical, psychological, and social/family domains,
the spiritual domain is vital to human performance optimiza- Beliefs, purpose and meaning, belonging, and values are likely
tion (HPO). Although the spiritual domain has not been well of particular importance during challenging times and uncer-
developed in terms of HPO, throughout history, spirituality tainty, and serve to buffer against the potential negative effect
in some fashion has been a component of nearly every human of exposure to combat stressors. In recognition of the unique
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society. From a cultural perspective, spirituality and religion stressors facing SOF and the complexity required to support
have influenced traditions, approaches to hunting, eating, their sustained performance and flourishing, the Preservation
governing, going to battle, moral standards, relationships with of the Force and Family (POTFF) and Chairman’s Total Force
*Address correspondence to danielle.worthington.ctr@usuhs.edu or patricia.deuster@usuhs.edu
1 Dr Worthington is a licensed clinical psychologist and postdoctoral fellow at the Consortium for Health and Military Performance: A Defense
Center of Excellence, Department of Military and Emergency Medicine, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD. Dr Deuster is a professor
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and director of the Consortium for Health and Military Performance.
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