Making Your Bed: An Important Habit

In this day of social media, you hear a lot of voices.

Anybody with a point of view, a joke or a word of advice has what amounts to a microphone. 

We’re drowning in opinions and advice. And I’d say, we’re still starving for, what my father would call, “the good stuff.”

Real advice that sticks with you. Makes an impact.

I hope from time to time you get something from my letters to you. Something that makes an impact. 

A good tip that starts a habit and then a pattern.

And before you know it, real change happens.

We’ve all heard of a “domino effect.” One action causes another.

Which leads me back to one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard.  

Ok, maybe it wasn’t “I have a Dream,” but 4 years later, I still think about it.

That’s impact. 

This speech was a perfect illustration of the domino effect. 

And how you can use this same principle to powerfully change your life. 

By focusing on a small “win” each morning, your day will inevitably get started on the right foot.

With one victory often comes another.

Admiral William H. McRaven’s speech at UT Austin’s graduation made so much sense to me the first time I heard it. It still does today.

Maybe it’ll ring true to you too. 

The way the Admiral was taught to start the dominos falling each day was by doing something simple… by making his bed. 

 I’ll turn it over to Admiral McRaven here: 

“Every morning in basic SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Vietnam war veterans, would show up in my barracks room, and the first thing they would inspect was your bed. 

If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled right, the pillow centered just under the headboard, and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack.

It was a simple task, mundane at best. 

But every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that we were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle-hardened SEALs, but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over. 

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 another and another. 

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 little things in life matter.

If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made — that you made — and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better. 

"If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”

Powerful stuff. 

What would change in your life if you started each day feeling like you’ve accomplished something, within minutes of waking up? 

How will you “win small” tomorrow… so you start winning big the rest of the day?

And the rest of your life?

Something to think about as the weekend wraps up.