I’m not sure if I have already mentioned this or not, but if so, just forbear with me lol 😂 (it bears repeating anyway!)
A few years ago, a video of a speech given at a graduation ceremony by a naval admiral went viral. One of the big takeaways from his speech was simply this directive: Make your bed each day! (Yes, read on: there really IS good reason!) His advice has stuck with me ever since.
I was taught as a child to make the bed first thing every morning but unfortunately, as an adult, the habit slipped away. It became easier to just jump up and go about my day without taking the time to “make the bed”. Likewise, one by one, other homemaking things began to slip as well and before I knew it, Homemaking became so overwhelming and I felt like I just couldn’t get ahead. I felt like a constant failure. But as I came across Admiral McRaven’s speech a few years ago, I became intrigued about his message. Perhaps, his directive did have a lot of wisdom to it….could making the bed daily have that much of an impact on my life and in my home?
If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and then another and another. And by the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, then you’ll never be able to do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you’ll come home to a bed that is made – that you made.”
-US Navy Admiral William H McRaven
There are so many reasons to make your bed every day, but one of the most powerful reasons is hope. Hope? What does hope have to do with a “made” bed? — This: A made bed IS a sign of hope and HOPE is an emotion/feeling that can completely transform us. Hope empowers us to make better decisions; hope gives us the strength to endure hard things; and hope gives us peace despite those trying things. Hope is a powerful thing and it is something in short supply in today’s world. Hope is the catalyst that will either change our situation or at very least, change our attitude toward it.
I don’t think it would hurt to personalize the Admiral’s words a bit and say – if you want to change the YOUR world and revolutionize your life/homemaking, start off each day by making your bed.
A made bed starts our day off with a productive feeling.
A made bed encourages us to be tidier in other rooms of our home.
A made bed is a great place to fold laundry, or in other words, making your bed makes your other chores easier.
A made bed is a symbol all day long – you’ve got your act together, you can do this.
A made bed is doing something meaningful and nice for yourself.
A made bed makes the whole house feel cleaner and tidier.
A made bed is an important example to your children – that you are willing to take time for small acts of importance. A good example is more powerful than any lecture.
A made bed feels so good to crawl into at the end of the day.
A made bed just feels better.
You ever heard (or said! 😜🙋🏼♀️) this excuse? Why bother even making the bed? I’m just going to get right back in it again tonight. A “made” bed doesn’t keep you out of bed, it makes you feel better every time you get near the bed! It can be one tidy spot even when the rest of house is somewhat chaotic. I have also discovered a “made” bed is so much more enjoyable to get into at night! No more wrestling with twisted blankets or trying to get sheets back up to the top of the bed!
Over the last couple years, I took the Admiral’s advice and have tried to put this small daily step of “making the bed” into practice. It has become a daily start of how I want the rest of my house to appear— Tidy and put together.
Amazingly, I have found his wisdom to be true. A “made” bed does motivate me to do more. It starts with one small step, then another, then another, and before you know it, you can like look back and be like wow! I can’t believe how much I have overcome/got done.
So, homemakers, do yourself a favor and give yourself a little dose of hope today.
Make your bed!
You may be feeling overwhelmed and discouraged but don’t give up! Take a deep breathe and Give yourself some grace. But I encourage you to actively work to take one step at at time (even a baby step if you have to! A tiny step is better than no step! Improvement is improvement— no matter how seemingly insignificant! ) just focus on one single thing — don’t set yourself up for failure by trying to go from 0 to 60 in a day or a week. Just try setting small attainable goals that will strengthen your resolve for a change. When you master those things, gradually add another and then another… What’s the old saying? How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Don’t expect too much out of yourself all at once. Because if you are like most of us, that’s a recipe for failure. Sudden drastic change is much harder to maintain than small incremental adjustments.
Those little adjustments really will add up! Just give yourself some time to get to where you are wanting to go.
It is hard to have perfect harmony in a chaotic enviroment. Chaos and messes really affect our moods. (at least it does mine!) But if we can gradually (with God’s help!) take back our homes and rid them of the messes little by little, step by step, we will find homemaking to be truly rewarding! Despite the daily struggle, maintaining a tidy and peaceful home is so worth it!
(PS- we all know life happens-sickness, busy seasons of life, etc…. So please don’t think if your house isn’t perfect right now, then you are failing or without hope! Things happen that cause our best plans to get derailed. It’s in those times, that we ladies have to really give ourselves some grace and take it one day at a time. But after that sickness or that busy season passes, don’t allow that misfortune or “mess up” to determine the rest of the time. Just get up and try again. 😉)
With all my heart,
-Tiphanie ♥️
And definitely go watch Admiral McRaven’s full commencement speech for yourself ( linked below)….I promise it will be time well spent! It is a very inspirational, motivating speech! https://youtu.be/pxBQLFLei70
His speech is full of other amazing life takeaways… Here is a list of my summary/commentary of his main points —while his message was primarily in the secular realm, much of his advice can also correlate into the spiritual realm as well so I also added a spiritual definition to many of them — Admiral McRaven didn’t really mentioned God or spirituality but I believe a lot of his speech is relevant for the believer as well as the average individual if you will take the time to look for those deeper truths… but this little summary of mine alone can not do these nuggets of wisdom justice! You must go listen to it yourself!
1.
“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” Making our bed seems simple, but if we don’t do the simple things right then it’s much harder to do bigger more complex tasks. Build on the simple tasks. One thing, successfully accomplished, leads to another and another.
2.
“If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle.” The truth is there are times we all need help. There is no shame in “needing a hand.” The trick is to just find someone who you can trust and upon whom you can lean on and work together to accomplish bigger goals! Teamwork is a powerful thing….God made us to help each other—“Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
3.
“If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.” Folks that don’t appear to be all that significant often turn out to be the very people who do the most (often with less) ! Don’t judge people based on what YOU think they are capable of. (think David and Goliath! David seemed small and insignificant when compared to the mighty giant but God used David to defeat Goliath in an unprecented way! It’s my prayer that God would give me eyes to see others as He sees them! God looks deeper than the outward surface, he looks at the heart!
4. “If you want to change the world, get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward.” Some days no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, things will not turn out as planned. At times, Failure happens to us all and we need to prepare for that. The “sugar cookie” exercise in Navy SEAL training is designed to put the trainee into this environment to learn how to push through to the end of the day and survive the ordeal. ( Getting wet then rolling in the sand - hence dubbed the sugar cookie) So to recap, when we have a bad day, the message is to just push through it and look forward to having a better day tomorrow. Don’t dwell on the bad because that will cause the struggles of today to affect tomorrow.
5. “But if you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the circuses.” In the Navy SEALs, when they fail a daily physical training event, the instructors make them do a “circus” — two hours of additional exercises designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, to force you to quit. But according to the Admiral, that extra training actually can help build strength and stamina if you don’t quit and but instead, redirect your frustrations. The Admiral compared this grueling exercise to normal “circuses” of life. The trying times of life can be exhausting, confusing and sometimes downright depressing. But if we remain be positive in the face of difficulty and keep pressing on, we can benefit from these trials and they can become blessings in disguise. When we do the extra work or go through ample amounts of difficulties, we become stronger, more experienced, and more confident. Doing the minimum is sometimes not enough, so practice the maximum! Go the extra mile. That mindset alone can sometimes be life changing! 6. “If you want to change the world sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head first.” Admiral McRaven recounted that one of the most feared obstacle course of the SEAL training challenges was the “slide for life.” It was dangerous and it put the SEALs at risk. He told of a young SEAL trainee who faced his fears head on (literally) and in the end, was rewarded for his efforts. While it’s often good to be wary, fear can sometimes paralyze our minds and take away our motivation. Sometimes we have to take that chance and “risk” it. (As long as it is with purpose, resolve, and awareness!) The Bible also tells us that Fear hath torment! Facing fears and overcoming them with God’s help is always a sure way to excel in life!
7. “So, if you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks.” Like it or not, we live our lives “swimming with the sharks.” Admiral McRaven’s lesson above, reminds us that fear can diminish our capacity but if we can address those fears and prepare for the “shark” encounter in advance, we are probably gonna fare far better. Attackers prefer to attack the weak, not the strong: As one man said, “Don’t ever behave like prey and run unless that is your last resort.” The most common “shark” attack is likely to be verbal for most of us. We can prepare our reaction/response now before we ever end up in that situation. In a CCW class, the instructor gave that exact advice. Don’t wait until the moment of crisis to decide how you are going to react. You must prepare in advance! You will make much wiser choices if you plan ahead and know how you want to response and this pre-knowledge will cause you to act accordingly. Likewise, in the spiritual realm, We should sort out what we believe and how we intended to live those truths out long before we ever encounter any predators/temptation/opposition ( AKA “sharks) We must stand our ground and stay true to our morals and convictions. We shouldn’t tuck tail and run, nor should we change our beliefs based on the popular opinion of the “multitudes” (especially when it goes contrary to God’s Word) -
8. “If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment.” Some of the Navy SEAL training missions require them to perform dangerous underwater operations in complete darkness. All of their training needs to carry them through that moment.
It’s when everything seems so confusing that you must rely on what you know to be true! Likewise, the storms of life can disorient us and cause us to feel disquieted. But we just have trust in our training ( or the Word of God) and He will pull us through. Draw deep from HIS strength that He has placed within you!! You will not fail! 9. . “So, if you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud.” The one week of the SEAL training consisted of six days without sleep, continual physical and mental harassment, and a day at the “Mud Flats”. This is often one of the most difficult Navy SEAL exercises for many of the men, the Admiral said. Many SEALs quit right there, but some find a way to get through it.While McRaven’s group were up to their necks in mud, one such SEAL started singing through the ordeal and others joined him in chorus. It was something that gave them hope. It was an affirmation of what can be, not what is right now. So never forget, you can use your voice to stir up hope - it can transform a dark moment into one of coming promise. One person may be the “key” to others regaining their hope as well… be THAT person!!
10. “If you want to change the world don’t ever, ever ring the bell.” Any time a Navy SEAL wants to quit their training and leave, all they have to do is go up to the bell and ring it— all their difficulties and struggles stop instantly but that’s it— they are done. They are quitters! As the Admiral says, Many people lose the battle in their minds way before their bodies follow. Negativity and ill thoughts left unchecked will always cause you to quit. You must remain positive even when things look bleak. Don't ring the Bell! ( In the spiritual realm, the Devil tries to get us to just give up— He tells us what we are doing isn’t working… no one cares what we are going through etc) but let me encourage you! This old world and its trials and struggles is just the “training” ground— Heaven’s awaiting over yonder! It will be worth it!! Don’t ring the bell!! Don’t quit now! You are an overcomer! You can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth you!