Book Surgeon No. 25

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven is a book adapted from his Commencement address to the University of Texas Austin Class of 2014. In his book, he lays forth 10 lessons for living a fruitful and satisfying life–devoting a chapter to the stories and thoughts that led him to learn these lessons. The first lesson is simple: always start your day by making your bed. No matter what happens on any given day, starting off with a win–no matter how small–will boost your confidence and build momentum to accomplish larger tasks throughout the day. Then, McRaven reminds us that “you cannot paddle the boat alone. Find someone to share your life with. Make as many friends as possible, and never forget that your success depends on others.” As we have discussed before, we are all connected to one another, and if we cut ourselves off from others, we are only hurting ourselves. True joy is felt in the presence of others, and accomplishment is simply a function of what we do for others, so satisfaction in life can only be found through our relationships with others. 

During his time in SEAL training, McRaven learned that the only thing that mattered was a person’s will to succeed–not their race, size, reputation, education, etc. Thus, he encourages us to measure a person by the size of their heart, which is his third lesson. The fourth lesson McRaven discusses is one that my mom has instilled in me from a very young age: life is not fair. There is no way of avoiding this fundamental fact of life. Sometimes life will be in your favor. Be grateful for these moments. Sometimes life will be against your favor. Do not let these moments discourage you. Keep moving forward. Chapter five is about a lesson that you must have also heard before: failure builds strength, or in the words of Kelly Clarkson, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Life will push you down from time to time. If you are not failing sometimes, you are not moving. Thus, you should not be avoiding failure. Rather, take failure in stride. Do not let it intimidate you. Use it to build resilience and tackle an even greater challenge. Following a similar note, McRaven goes on to push us to take risks in life. To live a life we are proud of, we must embrace uncertainty and take a leap of faith every once in a while. As McRaven writes, “life is a struggle and the potential for failure is ever present, but those who live in fear of failure, or hardship, or embarrassment will never achieve their potential. Without pushing your limits, without occasionally sliding down the rope headfirst, without daring greatly, you will never know what is truly possible in your life.” Taking risks goes hand in hand with McRaven’s next lesson, which is to not back down from the sharks: do not live in fear of bullies, whether “they are in the school yard, in the workplace, or ruling a country through terror.” As we push forward in life, there will always be people or challenges holding us back. In these moments of strain, we must learn to search deep to find the profound courage that is within each of us.

Our identity and strengths are most clearly defined during our darkest moments. When we are pushed to the limits, our true character begins to shine through. Thus, McRaven motivates us to be our best during our darkest moments: “at some point we will all confront a dark moment in life. If not the passing of a loved one, then something else that crushes your spirit and leaves you wondering about your future. In that dark moment, reach deep inside yourself and be your very best.” And the most powerful force for digging ourselves out of a hole is hope, so McRaven’s piece of advice to us here is to always give people hope. Lastly, McRaven leaves us with one last breath of wisdom: never give up. He writes, “life is full of difficult times. But someone out there always has it worse than you do. If you fill your days with pity, sorrowful for the way you have been treated, bemoaning your lot in life, blaming your circumstances on someone or something else, then life will be long and hard. If, on the other hand, you refuse to give up on your dreams, stand tall and strong against the odds–then life will be what you make of it–and you can make it great.” With these lessons in hand, we can face anything life throws at us, learning to take every challenge as an opportunity, which will help us continuously grow and live a satisfying life that we are proud of.

Share with others if you enjoy! Thanks for reading and see you next week!