You may be one of the 10 million YouTube viewers of Admiral William H. McRaven’s infamous University of Texas commencement speech that seemed to resonate with people across the globe. In case you missed that, the speech is now a book, Make Your Bed. Admiral McRaven’s (2017) book is an excellent read for anyone trying to find ways to cope with the challenges of life. The advice stems from his time in the military, but can be easily applied to life and to leadership. I will give a quick list of the chapter titles, so you have an idea of the book’s direction, and then will cover one of the main life lessons from the book.
1. Start your day with a task completed
2. You can’t go it alone
3. Only the size of your heart matters
4. Life’s not fair—drive on
5. Failure can make you stronger
6. You must dare greatly
7. Stand up to the bullies
8. Rise to the occasion
9. Give people hope
10. Never, ever quit
“If you want to change the world…start off by making your bed” (p. 9). This advice seems too simple. What does making the bed have to do with changing the world? Admiral McRaven has a way of making a seemingly easy and unimportant chore into one that is more important than anyone ever realized. Making the bed is the first task of the day for many people. The idea is, if you start your day by making your bed, and you make your bed right, you are setting a precedence for how you will handle the rest of your day. It also takes discipline to make your bed every day, even when you don’t feel like doing it. Taking pride in something (making your bed) is important in life. It may seem silly, but when you really think about the underlying idea, the concept is very valuable as a life lesson. Follow me…
By making your bed every morning, even when you don’t want to, you show that…
• you are disciplined
• you appreciate detail
• you did something well today
• you are motivated
For those who are depressed or paralyzed with anxiety and struggle to get out of bed, making your bed forces you up and out. It’s really hard to get back into a made bed. Also, by completing this first task of the day, it will trigger you to do a second task and then a third, until you have spent your day being productive. Making your bed each day also demonstrates the importance of doing the little things. For those in addiction recovery, you know all too well how important the little things are. “If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right” (p. 98). This concept can be a symbol of how important it is to commit to something each and every day, something that motivates you and makes you feel accomplished. The task does not have to be making your bed, but it needs to be something. Find a task that you can commit to daily, something that gives you a good feeling inside. Start each day by completing this task regardless of how busy you are, or how badly you feel.
Successful people master the basics. They become phenomenal by consistently doing the little things well. –Billy Alsbrooks
McRaven, W.H. (2017). Make your bed: Little things that can change your life…and maybe the world. Boston, MA: Grand Central Publishing.
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