This is episode 4 of the AC podcast. My name is Alex Collins. And my guest today is truly an inspirational woman who had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Grace O'Rourke. So just to give you a small bio on grace before we get stuck into the podcast Grace was the joint winner of Ortiz ultimate hell week and was the first woman in the history of the state to pass the elements of the Irish Rangers selection process. Now our interest to join the Army All Began back and fourth year of secondary school when she was selected to take part in the gasket Defense Forces for day challenge and was from this moment on her passion to be in the Army was ignited great applied for the Army three times in between pursuing her Sport and exercise science degree in the UK, but unfortunately was never successful now Despite All Odds and setbacks Grace continue to follow her lifelong dream and decided to apply for the Special Forces ultimate hell week on Ortiz. Grace is ability to push on and bounce back from various setbacks in her life is truly incredible from being turned down by the Irish Army three times. It's nearly handing in her badge in the early stages of hell week and then ultimately winning the show and becoming the first woman in history to pass the selection process displays an otherworldly amount of resilience. Her story is a real life example of why you should always stay true to yourself and never give up on your dreams. So without further Ado I Hope you enjoy my conversation with the Amazing Grace award. So Grace Roark we are now alive and absolute pleasure to have you on the podcast. Thanks for having me Alex. So Grace was the first female in Ireland to pass the elements of the Special Forces selection process, which is a failure rate of You percent and you are also the joint winner of the Ortiz hell week. So before we get stuck into the podcast, do you mind just explain to the listeners who may have not gotten the chance to watch the show? What was kind of how we go about and what was white, why'd you decide to apply for it? Well, it was my mom that told me to have lifers. And so I remember going into the sitting room and one night after just a really shitty day at the office and she said oh chick I saw this thing on already. It's em, you know with the Army and fitness and stuff, you know, you're into that and you should go for it. So and for those of you who don't know I wanted to join the Army when I was younger and I interviewed for it three times, but I never got it. And so yeah, that's kind of where my mom was coming from with the whole the Army and fitness. And so basically it was a TV show Oh based around the Army Ranger selection process. So the Rangers are just at the they're basically the the Irish Secret Service the Irish are saying that kind of yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so they're they're the opening. The opening kind of seen in hell week is you know, the II the Rangers have been kind of you know behind Hind behind doors until now, you know, the veil is coming off and you're going to discover and learn what what the Irish Rangers are all the base. So basically it was eight days with these guys and it was the training takes you through all different kind of fears and phobias and really pushes you to your limits physically and mentally and you know, you tests your fear of heights. Zero it will test your stamina your endurance and and guys everything really just yeah, I was reading your blog and I was it's an another interview did and it was the first night where you strip down to your underwear and a cold and the rain. Yeah, so it's just it's psychological and it's it's full-on from the the - you get there. And that's that's that's what it's about. You know with there's nothing nothing softer. Nothing gentle. It's the Fear Factor. It's the shock and yeah, it's just to get you from the word go and and the ranger is actually the Rangers agreed. The four DS has agreed to do it if the production team completely stood back and stayed out of it. So they said that they would do the show and one condition that it is true to what the Rangers do none of. This you know bootcamp be style kind of mess in a bait. So everything you saw on the TV was completely true to wash the Rangers are and what they stand for and you carry the same weight as well as they didn't hold back on the no concessions. Yeah, and I think you know, that's that's part of your winning and success even I think because it's you have guys were 50 60 pounds. Yeah. It's I think when you're when you're in it, though, you can't you just you can't you can't differentiate yourself you are. Are the same as them? So how did the first what was the first day like the first night? How did it all start the first so yeah, we're straight off the bus. They actually they held us on the bus for ages. I think it was so got a little bit dark and gray little bit of it, you know builds up the atmosphere. We are straight onto the courtyard and and we were told to enter your bags that we had brought with us and transfer everything that we needed only if a fish into the bag that they Us and so yeah that was like mint it was minimal stuff, but we'd been given instructions what to bring and everything else was at your own discretion. So I think it was yeah, I brought I've brought what I was told and but I also brought newspaper to keep my boots try to stuff in my booth and I was like, I was like it was it was actually it was Darren and and my mom that kind of suggests. Tested it. And I was like, I don't know like it's a good idea, but I don't know like I you know, I don't want to draw attention to myself. So the DS came along and was like newspaper. What do you think? You're going to be fucking having time to read here as I go for fuck sake I knew I shouldn't have brought it. I knew em and then as I can o do you assets to try my boots and he obviously thought that that was a good enough answer so he walked away because there was two other girls. I brought a hair dryer. And their hair straighteners, well, they got milled out of it. So I was just like other it's just not a good start to draw attention to yourself. So I was just like, oh thank God and so yeah, you're a stripped your stripped down and you're like, it's just a bit of a shock and it's kind of like, yeah, you're kind of like is this real your you know, it's Latin literature actually, so it was almost like the production team like pressed rain cue the rain as we were like stripping down and it I know is it was Just it was you know, you're I don't know. What one was March it was cold. It was Bloody cold and there's a breeze it was raining and the guy in front of me. I can't remember who I was but his Iris cheeks were clattering together and I think it was freezing but like that kind of thing if you enter if you entertain it, I was fine like sorry, I wasn't born but I hadn't reached that level of coals, but I think you know when you're watching something on TV and it's you're still in the warmth of your own. But it's cold you start to feel cold. So I think the mental game started straight away. If I let myself entertain like his level of coldness. I would have felt that cause I suck her eyes. Don't look at him. Don't look at him. Don't look at him. You're not cold. You're not cold. Do you know and so it's just mental from the word go the word going anywhere straight into a yeah, an 8 8 mile hike was an eight mile hike at the 8th. So with our full with the full weight of 45 five pounds in the bag and then you've got your water on top of that to liters of water your bar your eleven pen bar, which is just it's not 11 pounds isn't heavy when you had it when you're holding it across your time. I'm sure it's just awkward. It's so awkward so you can't use your arm. So you don't have that kind of momentum and that kind of Drive what your arms like you usually would M. So that was I think my ego took a bit of a hit on that one and so it CF 4 miles up and four miles back. So it was like this, you know the same route twice so psychologically you're like fuck. Oh, yeah. It's you've done it once towards yourself and now you're like I have to do it again. And so the way I usually start my race as like I started off kind of like cool calm and collected and kind of work my way up the pack because usually some people start off way too fast, and then I'm like, okay. I'll see you in a minute buddy, but that wasn't the case at all. I was like slipping further back and And back and back and I forgot to put my belt. No, I didn't forget. I just didn't put my belt on my pants which was stupid because they were they were new pants and they're like quite snug when I put them on. So as I go, these are Grant stupid if you're told to put something on if you're told to do it there's a reason so they were slipping down and it was lashing rain the bag I couldn't get on my back properly and I just I didn't I just couldn't hoist it up properly. It was until the second day that I figured out how to sew it was just pulling on my shoulders. I have no upper body strength. It was just grilling start ruling. I was like nah, was there any moment at first day you were like, why don't my this is crazy. What what was many moments where youth may be taught about giving up or so, I didn't think I'd have to give up. I thought I was going to snap my hamstring and that then I'd go out with hurry with an injury. Yeah. So like I was yeah, they were just like my legs tied up like I've never like like I know athletic session has ever made me tie up and it was tightening and tightening and I could barely lift my foot because it was like it was a big hill that we had to go up and I was like, okay grace like you're kinda not able for this you can't keep up and but don't worry, you won't have to quit because your hamstrings going to snap what I didn't snap. And I made it over the line with seconds left. Was it saying left? Right? Okay. Okay. Yeah, and what was your training regime look like buff like physically and did you do any mental training before this whole started this? Yeah I did and I probably did a little bit more mental training then I thought I did since I've been kind of talking about it. I people are like, oh you did. Yeah. I'm like, yeah, dude. Yeah, I actually did do that. Yeah, like what I kind of realizing so my physical training because I trained with DSD Dunder I'm saying tell them that it's Club. So I kept that up and I wouldn't be competing anymore. But I just kind of kept up the level of training that I would would do. If as if I was going into competition, so it would be kind of speed more speed endurance stuff. And do you know if someone has someone asked me if I could if I could do if I could prepare for it again and to do More training wall what I do and it will probably be more enduring stuff. I definitely didn't do enough turns and slow and learn stuff and I do most physically sorry for cutting of what was most physically daunting task that you to take on in that weak physically daunting and most exhausting that first night wasn't the first night was the first nice Easter. Yeah. Yeah. It was just like it was such a whacked my ego to physically like Just like Jesus Christ. Yeah, just my body had never ever felt any pain like that before and it was just yeah, it was is on a different level. Do you know physically and Men meant to have the boat both kind of whacked at the same time because I read some of your blog's talk. Just what you were saying there. I read some of your blogs on. Having your mind and body aligned which I love and running your own race. Can you explain to the listeners exactly what you mean? But yeah, I love that one. And so that's that's my italics coach and mr. Jim kid. He I was lucky enough to have two seasons with him. And so he coached me for the 400-meter hurdles. And this wasn't like a I'm primarily a high jumper. So this was kind of a different event. I've done a little bit of cross country. So I had I can jump and I've got little bit of endurance in me not so much speed but yet and so here's what he'll say to all his athletes as run your own race. So this I've brought this with me in life in like you can use it all across the board and this is basically don't get caught up with the competition and bring worse and bring your Stir the table. So like I remember when I was running my first 400 meter race, I would get caught up with the girls to the left and the right of me and and and and kind of be like, oh my God, so I know you know, she's she's an X y&z Runner and you know her training she does this and training and and just completely lose focus on me and like I wouldn't be a very fast starter, but I'd be a strong finisher, but you know, you'd get a lot of kind. Of sprinters in a 400-meter race as well. So when I try to Sprint off with them, I'd be dead like it halfway around I'd be dead but as soon as I stopped doing what they were doing and just focus on what I could do, which was slightly slower start and then use my engine to finish I you know start to do well I'd start to place and so it's just it's so, you know, it's such an easy thing to say to someone but it's so hard to apply aspect when you go into You know in business as well when you go into a new or like in business when your when people are like, oh you should be putting this in mind to your marketing budget or this amount and you're like, okay, but you need to like focus on how you want to do it and how you should think you should do it, you know. Yeah. Absolutely. I think it's well because in coaching we talk about values and living a true expression of yourself, and I think that phrase was kind of It kind of goes hand-in-hand with with life with life. Experiences and how you approach life in general? So I'm going to throw this question at you. What do you think? Your core values are in life that makes you make any decision or any kind of subconscious decision to drive forward and do you think any of those values in life possibly were formed from past experiences that made you apply for the hell week. That's a coincidence. Core values. So I don't know what persistence be one Mmm. Yeah persistence be running my own race. Yeah ambition might be one or I mean there's yeah number like what makes what makes you tick in life? What do you get? What do you get excited about it? Like it's funny because like I really think my competitive streak has died down now like when when I you know, you asked me that if you had asked me that question, maybe five years ago when I first had my first business it was like I want to be successful. I want to be the you know the best at what I do and now it's just not that anymore at all. It's just to attach just to be happy to be content and what I'm doing what makes you happy. Yeah, and then your last year Doug is well my dog. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I used to love or shrines. Uh, it's Chris. Really? Yeah, he's a bit of a venting. I loved it. I loved it. But it's one of those it's one of those pastimes you need to be. I think you need to be all in or nothing. Yeah for saying so sir. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's yeah, it's so time-consuming. Yeah are so much money to spend time writing resources name. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay good. So I'm doing that in the morning so good. It's handy, you know, you've got I have my my little little little time for me and then it's em like that, you know, it's not like a venting where it's all in kind of thing. Yeah. It's all in. Yeah. Well, that's good. It's kind of more like I guess it's lovely little pasta. Yeah when you can have it suits my story. Yeah. It's Okay, so you were talking a little bit you in mind and body. How do you when you are in hell week? Yeah what we are techniques to align your mind and body so oh, yeah. So before before I went in I would have done a lot of visualization that I kind of didn't realize I was doing so I was thinking about the scenario or the situation what if I want so what if I passed so it was never I never went in with the attitude. I'm going to do this I can do this never with that. But how does it feel and I think visualization. Yeah, it's it's called visualization, but To end it is a large large piece of fish. That's emotional and you need and you need to be able to feel it for sure. Yeah, talk a lot about yeah ocean it. Yeah Power of looking into the future. Yeah creating your future. Yeah, and it's not just it's not just because I think I would have done it a lot in sport, you know, see yourself jumping over the high jump, but it's not just seeing yourself. It's like feeling yourself feeling each step feeling what it feels like to go over the bar to clear it feeling. What a Like to to you know, when you know your friends and family like applauding you and white as I feel like and I think you need to kind of manifest and create that so, you know would have done a lot of that and I would have prepared myself mentally for as much as they could like. I knew there was going to be a challenge of heights and that's definitely my weakness. Yeah, like I wouldn't be great and no God. That was the worst. Oh God and yeah. Well, you know I was so lucky because I had Ray behind me. So Shane was in front. Ray was behind Ray was fucking freezing. He liked his teeth were practically clattering together to see a full grown man in that state, you know, I wasn't far off that either but it's just funny to see a man in that state and and then Shane was on on the bridge but his fear is also Heights. So he was taking a little bit of time to try come. Grips with his fear Ray was behind being like come on. Come on, just jump. Come on, like we're all freezing. So I say grace you got to get up there and just fucking jump. You can't take a range of there. You have a whole team of people that are fucking freezing. So it was a look I'm going to say it was lucky the position that I was in that I - it kind of pushed me on a little bit up jump in like don't dick around you seem to have this ability to kind of of I think there's a fine line between present in the moment and in his ability to kind of just switch off and separate your thoughts from who you are. There's a great book I read and The intended soul in I've ever read it and it's about just being able to like separate your emotions and feelings from yourselves going to read out what their first. It's a great book. Do you think Jordan hell week that you kind of were able to just even though your mind was just that's in in panic situations. We have to separate yourself from yeah, like oh well, I don't want to be separate. I don't know. I was or become more in tune with your mind. Yeah. Another yeah, so I was the the best version of myself. I was so switched on I was switched on to everything that was going on inside of me. And I was also on I was also able to be on alert for the guy beside guy or girl beside me like you need to have your shits or did a new needed to have their make sure that they had their shit sorted like your I was like, yeah, like I when I when I finished and I was like driving along in the car with Darren. And just started crying. He's like what's wrong with you? It's just so good. It's really the best possible version of myself. It's great. You need a certain environment to get it. I read a book. It's here. It's called tribe. Actually, I could give it to you. It's an amazing book and it's about this guy who was away at War. And and it talks about when soldiers come back to live with their families if they find it hard to live in reality now. Okay. Now this is different but that sense of a family that sense of being teenagers 100% Yeah, it's your so regimented in your so you got so close. It really is. It's different. It's very different when I step back into normal. It was here like I missed it. Was that a those emotions between it That relationship and that bond that you had with your partner because you heard he was because you looked at the guy beside you're the girl you're thinking. They're going through the same shit as me now. See you just had that. Did you feed yourself to your inflow State? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's when your mind and body and your spirit is All Connect definitely definitely just in this zone are kind of like in a hypnotic State more than anything else. Yeah. I yeah, I don't like I If that for flow is yeah. I think I think I was in flow. Yeah. There's a great book on. It's when your challenges and your your The Challenge and your ability is matched. So when you're learning let's say and you new skill or a task. You're picking up the rock climbing or guitar. Like you're kind of in that zone of the challenge is not too big but it's matching your ability. So your yes days of just going. Yeah great great books on it now and everything is great. I'd say I would imagine looking at all the episodes. Yeah. That's what you were in you're just so in the zone all the time. It was nothing going to stop. Copy really I and I think there was a point there is a point that I was able to get myself into that. It was kind of like it was either go into it or go out of it, you know, it was it was a very fine line and it was it was day two on the career and where we had to do the scratch scratch scratch scratch training scratch test and that's crawling through the puddles to the Rhinos in a breeze and go lower than their freezing. Cause like five high five in the morning and and it was when you know my ego had already got a hitch the night before because like I got I had I was so what I thought at the time it was the last two that were just going to whoever the last two were there were going to be cold, but it was actually anybody I found it after was anybody that didn't make it in within the two hours. So either way I was just like Grace you're actually you're not really at the level of these guys. Eyes and you know I was so cold like just yeah, I've never felt anything like it and and then all this negative noise and my head, you know, Grace the Army didn't let you in and this probably for a reason reason you're you know, you're probably not tough enough for this and it's just like I was just yeah just than the self diet was just overwhelming and then there was a moment where I was like rice when the DS walks by me. I'm going to I'm going to hand hand over my badge. Because our my my my arm bands because you know, if this is this is what I'm feeling like now, it's only going to get harder you barely could pass the first night like what are you doing? Just give up now would like there was something in me that just completely flip that around as soon as he walked by me. I just I just couldn't couldn't hand it over brilliant and I was like, okay grace like I all my coaches voices came to my head or Or my hours of training that I put in came to my head and and I was like, okay grace you're going to go three more minutes and you're going to just get through the next few minutes and then you're going to see what what happens after that. Maybe another three. Did you learn any like kind of mantras to you when you were going through tough times to keep to keep gone? I had the we're like the run your own race because I was like amongst like, you know, really fit guys and girls Messenger athlete yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so there is like there's all sort of sorts of amazing athletes there. So there's bash then there was my other coach new c-more. She I remember one one one day myself and my friend we skip training because it was raining we went home and we had ice cream and we got a tongue lashing of a text message from her you will never skip training because it's Name so like that kind of voice came into my head like just kind of man up a little bit and different songs. I kind of had in my head just kind of happy songs and I had women half. Oh you did. Yes. Yes, just breathe. Just breathe. Just breathe. Yeah. Okay I had who else I guess you know my family and that bush I think the biggest driving force for anybody to ever do anything is that intrinsic motivation like your do you want to do it for you? Like for its this is not you weren't hell week. You're not going to get it get through it. If you want to be famous, you're not going to get through it. If you want to keep someone happier. It's like that deep-rooted internal driving force. I do you think maybe those Names when you applied for the Defense Forces before that that drive you on even more to to complete it. Honestly that bat didn't that didn't come into it really didn't and I think my the amount of hours I've put in training as an athlete that kind of I was like Grace of you know of it. Have you done that for nothing that kind of came into us and and I do believe that In my resilience has definitely increased and and been built on from all my setbacks. And so I definitely think all of that has a part to play but it didn't that didn't come into my mind. I was I didn't want to do it to prove them wrong or anything like that. Yeah, and how do you think talking on resilience? I just did a post recently and resilience. Basically, how do you how do you respond when shit hits the fan? And I think a lot of people so I haven't Is I always loved put myself into uncomfortable situations. I think that's the only way to build resilience resilience and grow and it's like stepping out of your comfort zone. I'm trying to being caught trying to feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations. So, how do you how do you think you built on your resilience or what past experiences did you go through the really help you just push on through the whole week and not physically. And mentally I think the kind of shutting down of my first business that just tore me apart and broke me up. That was one of my light and one of my life's biggest learning lessons ever and it was my baby and I put like savings into it. I put so much time into it and that unfortunately had to have to get taken down and said that that was a huge thing and I'm from that I've I've learned To be calm to be patient to control my emotions and I learned so much from that so so much and I'll yeah, I like even like going forward into my next businesses and even in life. I'm just the stuff. I just don't care about it as much I don't react to as much and yeah, I think actually thought that was such a life lesson. Really? Yeah. Yeah. I think it's going through hard times is when you when you grow as a person. Definitely. Yeah, and I read a rage on your blog great great blog actually. Thank you. Yes, really love it. And the website is great. Where did where did you go was it? Yeah, it was it was it WordPress or something? I am I think it's a WordPress. Yeah. I guess you know that that's it. It's from my own experiences and it's something that we all need to try harness a little bit and I think when you come into when you come into a new situation and it's it's so hard to apply it, you know to you can Master it in one situation. But as soon as you come into a new situation new challenge, it's like it's resetting all over again and trying to you know keep That calmness and keep that composure to apply all the elements again. Yeah. Yeah, and you talked about in the methods was being Mindful and present. Yeah, that's that's a huge thing. And I honest honestly like before how weak being the whole kind of being present in the word being present. I might have said it's a little bit airy-fairy and but like it's a thing that it's yeah. It's a thing and it's so important and I think unlike that like, Something that you kind of need to practice it. You can't just get into a state of present. You know, you have you need you need time. You need Focus any patients to actually need average of two to be present conscious enough to know sure not being in the present moment. Yeah, and I'm doing on the unnie walks of life or any like me and Grace were walking into town and we've been so busy lately with her own work and with the podcast and she wasn't doing a lot of studies and we decided just to put our phones are not talk about work and we walked into town and we terraplane. I spy we started saying like, you know name three things you can see right now or that's that's green in color. We started playing a funny game, but it just made us really present in the moment and you probably noticed our loan word that you never usually noticed. Yeah, we-we're yeah, we were looking at the old buildings and snows just it was just really nice because we're just so caught up all the time and her own head and listening to these thoughts and just you just get wrapped up and social media and your phone you just never ever present and To yeah, for sure. Yeah, and I think you know for me and how weak you know being present was having that connection with my mind and my body and so, you know, that was never going to happen if I wasn't present if I wasn't fully in the moment there and just taking on anything that came at me in that moment. I mean you were talking about swapping negative talk negative talks within your head with Of dogs. Yeah. So again that was kind of, you know going back to what I saying earlier on that was that was that kind of moment where and just the negative noise was overwhelming but it was in the same moment that it was like well, hang on a second grace, you know, you didn't you didn't but put in all these hours training you didn't and you know, you didn't show up here just to walk away and be like defeated like It was like having that self-belief as well. Do you know yeah, did you use Reiki techniques? I don't where I read that. Yeah. Yes. And that was I actually I did a Reiki Course and there while ago I'm like, I wonder why I went to remember in the room where we were standing still and four hours. It was just the final episode. No, and this was we were in the bedroom and are in the military and the bedroom wasn't that luxury And the five star in the ballot and it was they were calling us out one by one to put us through the pipe and I see I'm not sure how much this came across on TV. But we were yeah, so like there's the little little guess he was the first one called out. He was only standing there for like 10 minutes and I think I was like third or fourth last and we I was standing for almost two hours and it was when I was standing there that I was like, oh, well do A bit of Reiki on myself sir. What else would you be doing? So I'm actually I did I've done a quarry. I did a weekend course and so it's just like I'll put a teeth what what dicks family I know a little bit about Reiki, but it's more it's like energy because energy isn't more energy healing. Yes. I actually did it for Animal Reiki. That's why I did it, you know the animals I heard he's got you've goats as well. I say no. Oh, yeah, so my friend Fiona has goats and I Go I teach a pilates class or near her every Monday. So I stopped in to her for and some tea before the plot is like yeah, and they're my Monday mates. I love them so much. They're so cute. Glad your stories every time there's some animal in there. Like it's just it's just healing basically and you can do it on yourself. You can do it on other people and it's it's yeah and energy Yelling no school and its getting bigger as well. I see a lot of people doing it and around Wellness area. And so I wanted to ask you a question on what you think your key skills were that ultimately LED you to winning hell week. I guess my mental strength would you say that's a skill? Yeah. Absolutely. Probably that strong skill ever. Yeah. Yeah, definitely my mental strength and my ability to stay. Imposed so I think you know composure allows a lot to happen. It allows you to focus to stay calm too. Yeah to really be present. Yeah, just in the present. Yeah, and I think that keeping that kind of, you know coolness and and staying composed. That's that's that's yeah definitely like if you're in any state of panic or worry Or anything like that. You just it everything kind of goes out the window. I wanted to talk now about the last episode was it just looked absolutely insane and it was nearly it was nearly tough to watch. Do you think yeah, it was like how we in there eight hours eight hours. Yeah. So I think it was like, yeah, we got the whole kind of capturing that what I think that was about 14 hours. So like but from This is including like the time we got pulled off the mountain and we put in the van drove around all of it was an including the eight hours was what yeah was for it was that whole thing was 14, but the actual being in that room and was eight hours. How did you stay present because you you must have had this day in present. I think I micro napped did I must be crazy? I just so chill. It's like that's fine. No, well, like I don't I don't know like you know, like you just I don't know I'd say you probably didn't like it because you were so look at one of the guys Sarah loosen it. Yeah. Yeah, and he was like, yeah, he was seeing a whole he was seeing yeah, he was just like no enough to enough and you know, you know, I don't know how much more I would have been able you don't really know. Like I definitely was delirious. I definitely definitely so how much more was I going to be able to take before it started to loosen Nation? Well, yeah, so I was I was dead I was dead as on there. Yeah, I think he was he was I don't know if he'd say he was delirious. I don't know and I find it really hard to answer the questions. Really. Yeah B, so we had our story our cover story and we had to That going basically is for as long as he can and until until you so until one of the or one of your other teammates kind of cracks or you basically in a real-life situation. You keep the cover story going for as long as you can so that your giving yourself time for someone to come in and rescue you and then when they start to get when the interrogators has to guess, you know, a sniff of this is not the truth. Then you have to slowly give them the truth. That otherwise you're useless to them, right? So you have to time it then it is such as you have to time it you but you have to time it with with everybody else. You can't you don't want to slip too much if they're not slipping. You don't want to not slip if they have slips and story and it's a complete head fuck so and as well, you don't know who's left. We didn't know who was left. So I was convinced when I was sitting on the chair with Dez. I was convinced Ray and Mike were behind us and there are going to start playing us off each other. So like it's a real it's such a head float and you're so tired like food, probably. Yeah, you are pretty good food deprived food deprived of sleep deprived and they keep you a teeny tiny bit hydrators. So there is a little sips of water coming and cups and your useless if you're dehydrated, you know, and the hunger your past. Do, you know your past hunger? It's not something that I was thinking about. I was thinking about bed though. I so - I like trying to function. Going to tell that story while being tired like yeah, I don't function. Well what I'd sleep. Yeah, and you know, we weren't hungry God. I know some people just can't function without food at all. Well mate, like maybe I want your just I don't you don't like I know I was watching myself back in my eyes or like is white like it was like, oh it's higher something. It's just like wired and yeah, you're just you're I don't know your adrenaline and everything. You're just trying to keep yourself going trying. To keep the story going not you don't want to crack too soon, you know because he might get your buddy in trouble and like yeah, it's just a head fuck and in with a psychologist in at the end questioning you and what was going through your mind. There was a very like was there a part of you or like? Okay. I know I'm in a show like I know I'm they're not real like so but did was there any point you were like, I'm actually getting really confused there. Maybe I need to know not like I didn't think that it was like No, my whole thing was just all that was going on in my head. It was the cover story and trying to trying to do that. Right? I really wanted to do that. Right got that far. I really wanted to do it right and just try to be clear and coherent and like the whole the whole thing was a test for your mind and your body really so I was just like I wanted to see you know, and I definitely did have a my I knew the maximum amount of time it could be so as in you had to you had to given you my new iPhone story then yeah, I know sorry, but I knew I knew we weren't going to be there any longer than 10 days. Okay. Okay, so that that was in my head. What Irani was your any guys there that we're tougher than the rest as in the the instructor what not something the guy did he ssds is sorry. Yes. The DS is the main guy. He seem like a tough guy Ray. Every I love Ray. Yeah, he seems like yeah, he's quite so there are asthmatic in his own way. Yeah, mr. Empathetic is what I called him like he has that empathy in him and but he's like, yeah, don't don't like just Don't fuck around with the same and they're and they're all well, sorry there somewhere bit more kind of like hot-headed a few like there's there's no kind of empathy. They're just hot you. Do, you know like like straight in but Ray is like he's like fair. I feel yeah, he seems kind of like the toughest but the fairest yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He just when is the next one? There's another one coming now know very soon. Yeah. Yeah. They're going they're going they're filming soon and they I don't know when they'll heiress. So what was the application process like just to apply for it? And so it was an application and you know, where where the view shown mental strength or what you do physically and all those kind of questions then once you got through that you'd have phone interview once you got through that then the fitness then like Carlos. Call from the psychologist. And then yeah, that was it was your physic there was physical test was over. Okay, if it's yeah, physical fitness fitness test yet, but Fitness, yeah, okay, and so people are playing now. Well, actually it's too late now to apply. Is he late now? Yeah. Okay right season 3, I'd love to fly. I think I'm going to play I play you should apply apply apply. I'll go first. Okay guys, so to mental health week next week. Yeah International. I think it's International Mental Health Then Wednesday. So when you're feeling stressed because you've an amazing mindset, how do you turn off? What does your day look like if you need to just switch off and kind of come back to presents come back to what you do on your days off. Whenever you have a day off when I'm not like your full Onyx no Sunday. Definitely Sunday would be I try, you know, make a conscious effort not to do anything on a Sunday and yeah brunch and walk the dogs in a forest. Yeah, it's great. Yeah getting out into nature. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. I had I had a podcast with Leo. I think you did you listen to it, Leo Ryan. Yeah. Yes. Yeah breathing going. Yeah. Yeah, and he was talking about birthing and getting out of a chair and I actually feel like it's such an important aspect. Because I live in here in the city. I never get enough it C which you wouldn't be able it wouldn't get a chance to go for a walk while Phoenix Park is just there. Yes, we're trying it brings back so much as we can but he's just so important for mental health radius trees. Yeah and nature just calmness. I find like the energy of the city is quite you know, even if you are kind of trying to switch off the energy of the city doesn't really allow your no just calm down. Yeah. We're as your I like I really I As I drive right away Chloe, I actually physically feel myself like just like sex. Yeah, it's just a little bit calmer until it's not as fast. It's beautiful. It is beautiful part of the country. Yeah, I'd lend a lock and it's his gorgeous. Yeah, it's very nice. It's very nice. So talking about mental health and week ago mental health week next week. What tips would you give on? Somebody going through a hard time mentally or physically, what are your kind of what matters what matters you have or what tips it's it's a method for when when you're facing a challenge basically and it's steps involved and how to kind of take it on and it's something I discovered from doing doing how weak and it's you know, there's bits of it that I've probably been doing my whole life and kind of the more the more I talked about it, you know with Darren and who he was I you know as I go. Do this I just but I always do this and he was like, well you need you need to write that down because they don't think he was like, I don't think everybody does that. I don't think that's you know, and so there is it's basically your your preparation and kind of mental perhaps physical prep and visualization then there's your approach and you know, what's your attitude like then there is your sorry your reaction as First and then your approach and then you've got your resolve. So yeah, your reaction is what is your action? Your approach is your attitude? And then your resolve is kind of how you continue going to write the challenge and so there's different elements in all of them kind of broken down and then the it's uh, no not the whole lot is not on the roadside. I'll show you but the resolve is kind of that were the kind of psychology kind of comes into it. Okay, quite a lot because we talked about in coaching about you can either how you react or respond? And yeah, basically, I don't know if you read a book or heard about it the emotional mind unlike the monkey mind to Chimp Paradox. Basically sometimes when we react or respond, we kind of react out of out of emotion flies. Yeah fight or flight. We don't just come present in the moment and consciously think we just kind of you're in an argument. Let's say you can react to Thing when when you respond is he can you kind of just catch it in the moment before your monkey mind takes over your emotions dive in and you get I have heard the monkey mind. Yeah. It's a great book. It's a great book. So basically just kind of teaches you to let's see if somebody cut you off in front end of a car and you get sometimes people get really mad and just it can destroy their whole day and then they can take a person personally. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so and I think it's I've learned actually only I used to take everything personally and it was my ego. And then yeah, I just kind of learned not to take anything personally because it's just it's like there's a great quote quote is like drinking poison expecting the other person to die. But yeah just not reacting to things personally. And yeah so bad. Yes. Yes. I think when if you react to words what people say to you then you you kind of lose in life because then you can react to anything. Yeah. Yeah, definitely and it yeah, it's not not it's not taking it personally because that person probably He has something going on with their life. Yeah, that's why they're behaving like that. 100% Yeah. Yeah, when I see angry people I was on the bus the other day and coming back from the airport and to some guy who's like, yeah. Do you mind moving there? I want to put my suitcase, you know, and I usually would have been like fuck you. Did. You know, I would have said something to responded or said something back but I'm like, ah, you know what maybe he's just really angry and himself maybe said a bad day. Maybe maybe he's not happy in himself and he likes to take take his ain't take his anger out. And that's that's like sad sad for him. You know, that's his that's it. Yes. Yes, you're not yours. And I think it's so important to not react. I think we know their people as well when they're slacking off people or they're being mean. I think when people are being mean I think they're personally being they're actually personally being And I mean some cells, you know, yeah, there's some internal kind of hate or something internal hate. Absolutely. Yeah, and yeah, I think it's so important as in mental help you go. I let my last podcast. We spoke of smoker and a few topics around different areas and mental health and I think it's so good that we're talking about these things and expressing it because it's such a it's such a big thing in Ireland that it's coming around people are coming around to it and Yeah, so there's only moments in your life where you maybe were down or I suppose you want maybe you were talking about your businesses. But yeah, definitely I think Buddy have to well for me. I always think someone has it far worse and I think it's appreciating what you have is so important gratitude is so yeah, so powerful. I think you know your there's all or you're always going to want more. Oh God if we had, you know, if that was a bigger. You know, there's always that you know wants to have a little bit more Bush. I think it's really important to present when I appreciate what you have. No absolutely hundred percent 100% It's great. So you are offering any courses now at the moment or I am so at the moment I am diving into talks and so I'm doing quite a bit of public speaking Corpus and a few events as well. Okay. So that's kind of are you taking on any clients for like mindset coaching or? Yeah, like I have one or two at the moment. Yes. It's definitely an area that I'm stepping into. Okay. Perfect Grace. It was a pleasure to have you on the show. Thank you so much for having me. Brilliant. Thanks for coming in this rainy day as well God. I hope this weather is going to clear up later. Right? I need to go for a walk in the virus now. I never thought that rain but yeah, okay, right. Look at thanks very much and guys. Guys, thanks for listening, and we'll be in touch. Thank you. Thanks Grace. Thanks Alex.
This is episode 4 of the AC Podcast – my name is Alex Collins and my guest today is truly an inspirational woman who I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with, Grace O’Rourke. So just to give a small bio on Grace before we get stuck into the podcast, Grace was the joint winner of RTE’s Ultimate Hell week and was the first woman in the history of the state to pass the elements of the Irish Rangers selection process. Now her interest to join the army all began back in 4th year of secondary school when she was selected to take part in the Gaisce defence forces 4 day challenge and it was from this moment on her passion to be in the army was ignited. Grace applied for the army three times in between pursuing her Sport and Exercise Science degree in the UK, but unfortunately was never successful. Despite all odds and setbacks Grace continued to follow her lifelong dream and decided to apply for the Special Forces ultimate Hell Week on RTE. Grace’s ability to push on and bounce back from various setbacks in her life is truly incredible - from being turned down by the Irish army three times, to nearly handing in her badge in the early stages of hell week and then ultimately winning the show and becoming the first woman in history to pass the selection process, displays an otherworldly  amount of resilience. Her story is a real life example of why you should always stay true to yourself and never give up on your dreams. So without further a due, I hope you enjoy my conversation with the amazing Grace O’Rourke. 