Embracing advice from a Navy SEAL

Many people find sugar cookies to be a hallmark of the holiday season.

Fewer people know that “sugar cookies” are also a punishment in Navy Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training, in which trainees are commanded to jump into the ocean, roll around in the sand, and remain as an uncomfortably sandy “sugar cookie” for the remainder of the day.

“There were a lot of things more painful and more exhausting, but being a sugar cookie tested your patience and your determination,” explained Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) in his book, “Make Your Bed.”

To “get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward” is one of 10 lessons from Navy SEAL training that McRaven encouraged readers to internalize in order use to change their lives, “and maybe the world.”

The lesson is one of mental toughness: “[T]he act of becoming a sugar cookie was completely indiscriminate,” he recalled from training. “There was no rhyme or reason. You became a sugar cookie at the whim of the instructor.”

For some trainees, the lesson of unfairness was difficult to come to terms with.

McRaven wrote, “Those that strived to be the very best expected that they would be rewarded for their stellar performance. Sometimes they were… Sometimes the only thing they got for all their effort was wet and sandy.”

The “sugar cookie” concept forces trainees to accept that life is not fair.

As McRaven’s instructor Lieutenant Phillip L. Martin explained the purpose of his punishment, he admitted, “[L]ife isn’t fair and the sooner you learn that the better off you will be.”

While students of LRHS have not undergone the adversities of BUD/S, they are aware that life is not fair.

Like McRaven, they are learning “to get over being a sugar cookie” and embrace unfairness.

Kierstin Witt believed, “Life isn’t fair… and that’s how it’s always going to be.”

She does not wish this to change, either: “It’d be too easy then,” she said.

“Life isn’t fair,” began Easton Nelson, adding, “and if it was fair, there wouldn’t be any work ethic to do anything in your life.”

A world without “sugar cookies” would have fundamental issues.

Alarah Pierce-Pulliam explained, “If life was fair, it would probably mean that everyone would be equal or receive the same treatment.”

“I think people should earn what they receive,” she clarified.

Similarly, Rachel Schell believed, “Due to life being unfair, a lot of people think to themselves, ‘Why should I try?’ But I think…we should try to do good anyway or put in effort anyway.”

As McRaven’s message reinforces in readers, true mental toughness is grasping the importance of moving forward in the face of life’s inevitable adversities.

Witt continued of McRaven’s lesson, “

‘Keep moving forward’ and ‘do good anyway’ mean to get past the unfairness and go forward… Don’t stop for the difficulties.”

“No matter how bad it gets, you can’t give up,” said Camden Smith. “You have to keep going.”

Regardless of their lack of experience in BUD/S, students see the value in McRaven’s connection between tenacity and quality of life.

Pierce-Pulliam explained, “I am always going to experience lows at some point in my life. to remain optimistic about these experiences and find the best outcome from it.”

She continued on overcoming unfairness to find success, “I should not get down on myself about negative experiences, I should ‘keep moving forward’ or not let it totally disrupt my life. I should ‘do good anyway’ or find a way to better myself from my experiences.”

Although not all students have read “Make Your Bed,” the messages within its pages universal toward achieving success.

“Sometimes no matter how hard you try, no matter how good you are, you still end up as a sugar cookie,” McRaven concluded. “Don’t complain. Don’t blame it on your misfortune. Stand tall, look to the future, and drive on!”