Average 70kg D**khead is my latest number #1 recommendation for recruits undergoing initial military training, especially those experiencing health, discipline or adjustment challenges as they set career and life goals. But it is a ripping good read and relevant for anyone eager to dream big, set audacious goals, pursue them relentlessly, and adjust and grow through inevitable setbacks. Pronk’s foundational advice: “We only get one go at this life so don’t become comfortable and settle if you’re truly convinced that you’re destined for something more.”

The first main theme I appreciated was inspiration for goal setting. The book helped me shape goals for my main effort of supporting wellbeing with attentive chaplaincy support. It elevates the ethic of service, quoting John Bunyan’s aphorism that “you have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” It urged me to be prepared for tough conversations and tough relocations. The book also reminded me not to compare myself with others but to compete with my yesterday, citing Miyamoto Musashi the 17th century Japanese swordsman “Today is victory over yourself of yesterday”. Among Pronk’s best advice was to be more concerned with the regard and appreciation of those “below or around you” than those above, despite what it means for recognition or progression. A meaningful measure of success is the accomplishment of bringing others along! This reminded me of a learner who appreciated a Kapooka Corporal who told them “You’re not failing if you don’t get through but I am failing as an instructor” encouraging them to keep at it together.

The book also helped me break down goals for supporting efforts in fitness and language learning. It employs the ‘SMART goals’ methodolody, and shows how Pronk brokeseemingly impossible goals into bite-sized plans that were Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound (SMART). If it takes one bite at a time to eat an elephant, then it will take consistency with focused practice to develop my Indonesian language fluency.  It takes incremental and consistent effort to increase my number of push ups and a range of other fitness indicators. Our social media addicted, fast-paced, society expects things easy, but if mastery takes Gladwell’s predicted 10,000 hours then I need to respect the need for training hours (as well as coaches and colleagues to support the journey). And it takes perseverance and giving 100% in training and events to achieve ambitions goals in endurance sport; so Pronk’s encouragement to push “always a little further”, “don’t leave any gas in the tank”, and “don’t leave any rounds in the magazine” were inspiring. Pronk’s stories of selection and Special Forces teamwork will be motivational especially for those preparing for selection but carry lessons for all of us in taking a current project to the next level or overcoming barriers to start something new.

The second theme I appreciated was perspective. This also can help with goal setting – by having a bigger perspective to not get stuck in a rut, not take yourself too seriously, and taking time to celebrate accomplishments. It also helps to have perspective to know when some goals are not worth pursuing or are not achievable. As an example, Pronk spent five years trying to make it as a professional triathlete until he realised, he was underperforming and decided to apply his effort in other directions. He helped remind me that a key to top performance in a main area of effort is saying no to other distracting or alluring options.

The most valuable image of perspective was the recalibrated suck meter. A suck meter is calibrated to what we think is comfortable. Typically, we might sit in an orange zone if food and life and comforts are flowing okay, or tip into a green zone when we see small wins of fortune, or red zone of “suck” when we experience simple inconveniences or things not going our way. ADF training starts to recalibrate this with expectation management that life and service is not meant to be easy and to reinforce that achieving anything worthwhile takes challenge.

Pronk is transparent about his post-traumatic stress from witnessing violence in combat and the challenges of adjusting to civilian life. He also acknowledges that he was too bound up in his persona as a special forces combat doctor that led him to make some unhealthy choices and decisions. The fact that he recognised it with the benefit of hindsight but couldn’t see it in the moment is an important lesson. Pronk’s experience may help others navigate trauma and/or gain fresh perspective:

Average 70kg D**khead is a valuable resource for ADF members seeking inspiration for achieving bold goals or help with recalibrating a healthy perspective on life’s struggles. 

Notes
Publisher details: Dan Pronk, Average 70kg D**khead: Motivational Lessons from an Ex-Army Special Forces Doctor (Fremantle: Vivid Publishing, 2019). He also wrote The Combat Doctor: A Story of Battlefield Medicine and Resilienceand with SF colleagues Ben Pronk and Tim Curtis wrote The Resilience Shield: SAS Resilience Techniques to Master Your Mindset and Overcome Adversity. A previous version of this review was published in Journal of Military and Veteran’s Health 32:4 (Oct 2024), 65-66.