In the book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World, Admiral William McRaven speaks to a concept of not ringing the bell. For Admiral McRaven this meant not quitting while in SEAL training. In the book he describes SEAL training as one of the most mentally and physically challenging times of his life. The training is meant to break you and push you far beyond your limits. If you can’t handle it…you ring the bell. This signals your superiors that you’ve had enough and you want to quit.
How many times in our lives do we want to “ring the bell” instead of pressing forward. How many times do we just want to quit because something seems hard, unfair, impossible, etc. And how many times do we quit when we’re so close to the finish line.
“Quitting never makes things easier.” Admiral William McRaven
Sometimes pressing forward and failing is the best thing that can happen to us. Too many times in life we compare where we are to where we want to be and never value the gap between those two points. That gap is full of pain, joy, growth, stress, LIFE. Appreciate the gap, there’s no overnight success.
We also live in a world of constant comparison. I know I compare myself to others all the time, especially those who have achieved things that I’m striving for. And what we end up doing is comparing our “behind the scenes” struggles with their “highlight reel” because of our insecurities. Remember the person at the top of the hill did not fall there. If we appreciate what we have, then we will realize we already have everything we need.
Easier said than done…
I must constantly work on my mindset and attitude. I must constantly remind myself to press forward. To be grateful and appreciative for life. To have grace for myself and grace for others. We are all learning together and everyone has their own individual battles. But if we press forward, something interesting happens – we grow our self-esteem and confidence and realize we are stronger than we thought.
I will leave you with one last thought. The power of CHOICE. We get too caught up in what our options are, mainly because we have soooo many! Take the time to appreciate the fact that you get to decide, that you get to choose whatever YOU want. Every day is a choice. We all have the same amount of time, it’s your CHOICE on how you will use it.
Stop waking up like an accident, attack your day with purpose. Don’t right the bell.
Bryan Sandy
Bryan comes from a coaching family, was a college football player and spent a season coaching with us at MSUM before becoming a successful Wealth Management Financial Advisor with Northwestern Mutual in the Twin Cities.
Featured image from: https://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/never-quit-don-t-ring-the-bell/
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