Small changes for personal growth in the New Year

A very wise man once said, “Discipline builds character.”

In his book, “Make Your Bed,” Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) describes lessons in mental discipline that he learned in Basic Underwater Demolition SEALS (BUD/S) training. McRaven believes that applying these ten lessons leads to personal growth, and eventually, changes the world.

The titular lesson, “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed,” is strongly representative for doing little things right that lead to doing other, more significant things right. McRaven recalls, “Throughout my life in the Navy, making my bed was the one constant that I could count on every day.”

“I had the honor of working with some of the finest men and women this nation has ever produced…” McRaven writes, adding, “They all understood that life is hard and that sometimes there is little you can do to affect the outcome of your day.”

If all the uncontrollable factors cause negative things to happen throughout the day, at least the one controllable factor, making one’s bed, can allow for one positive thing to be accomplished at the end of the day.

He explains, “In battle… your days are long and filled with anxious moments. You search for something that can give you solace, that can motivate you to begin your day, that can be a sense of pride in an oftentimes ugly world.”

While McRaven’s conditions might seem extreme, his lesson can be applied everywhere: “It is not just in combat,” he says. “It is daily life that needs this same sense of structure.”

None of the LRHS students interviewed make their beds. Cameron Weber says, “I don’t make my bed every morning just because my mind set is, ‘I’m going to lay in it that night, so what’s the point?’”

The closest thing to a made bed is Spencer Gering: “When it comes to making my bed in the morning, not much is accomplished. A simple covering the pillow with the sheets is all.”

However, making small changes and controlling the controllables can be the first step in building personal growth in the New Year. Even if it isn’t making a bed, LRHS students are starting small and building discipline to work toward bigger goals.

For example, Ellie Gering says of her change for the New Year, “I would like to be better at making the best out of every situation. I want to live in the present instead of the future. I want to focus on the positive in situations compared to the negative.”

To do so, she plans to make small changes. “I could make reminders to myself in order to remember to focus on the positive,” she says, adding, “Overall, I need to focus on changing my mindset.”

Similarly, Tucker Guiles explains, “I would like to become a better person and to help out others more.”

“I believe that I could start small, doing things like chores and giving little things to people that I spend a lot of time with,” he says of his plan to execute his goals. “I think that by giving to others, it could help me really become attuned with my inner self and better me.”

Regardless of one’s goals for the New Year, it is important to start small, build discipline, and control the factors that are controllable.

McRaven advises, “Nothing but sometimes the simple act of making your bed can give you the lift you need to start your day and provide you the satisfaction to end it right.”

“If you want to change your life and maybe the world,” McRaven concludes, “start off by making your bed!”