“Get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward,” Admiral William H. McRaven writes in the introduction of one chapter of his book “Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life … and Maybe the World”. McRaven goes on to explain that while he was in training to become a Navy Seal, his gruff drill instructor ordered the dripping wet McRaven to roll in the soft sand of a beach. “No part of my uniform was left uncovered,” he writes. This is what the Seals affectionately called becoming a “sugar cookie”. “Nothing was more uncomfortable,” McRaven relates.
What did McRaven do to deserve such a harsh treatment? Nothing! “Life isn’t fair and the sooner you learn that the better off you will be!” his drill instructor yelled.
This is one of many examples McRaven describes in the book of his Navy Seal experiences, the lessons he learned, and how they can be applied to his life – everyone’s life. In reading this story I thought of “unfair” incidents that have happened to me. “Yeah, life isn’t fair sometimes, get over it!” I told myself, remembering this story.
I had reviewed McRaven’s book “Sea Stories” previously. That book was a good one so I wanted to read more from the author. “Make Your Bed” had a bigger impact on me. A much shorter book, it is filled with life lessons in its ten chapters. “Make Your Bed” is the title of the opening chapter which tells of McRaven’s bed inspection each morning in his Seal training. “Start your day with a task completed,” he goes on to explain. Other chapters include “Failure Can Make You Stronger”, “Stand Up to the Bullies”, “Never, Ever Quit”, and more.
If you are interested in McRaven’s Navy Seal stories and lessons, I recommend reading his “Make Your Bed” book first and then “Sea Stories” next (the latter is more detailed account of the Admiral’s life).
