What I learned From Making My Bed Every Morning
As of today, I have been making my bed every morning for 41 days in a row…and I’m damn proud of it.
Why?
Towards the end of 2023, I was going down a rabbit hole of motivational videos and podcasts when the YouTube algorithm auto-played Admiral William H. McRaven’s viral “Make Your Bed” commencement speech at the University of Texas, Austin 2014.
Over the last 10 years, I’d listened to and forgotten about this speech several times. This time however, it felt different.
I’d been unemployed for over a year at this point and employment opportunities weren’t looking much better. It’s not that I didn’t try. I have big dreams and I wanted change. I put myself out there and work hard. But none of it ever seemed to work out. Reflecting upon the admiral’s speech, I realized I had the passion, the motivation, and the goals all worked out.
However, I was missing several things.
What?
Consistency and taking pride in the small things
I pride myself on my ambition and daring to dream big. Paired with my entrepreneurial spirit, I’m always looking for ways to optimize, create systems, and find shortcuts to solutions wherever possible. Great qualities I’m sure, but this means I can be impatient at times. A double-edged sword.
Looking back on the past year, this is exactly what I had been doing to get my career back on track. I was jumping for and landing short of my goals, disappointing and questioning myself when I could have been building smaller steps and bridges to get there slowly, but more surely.
So?
I took Admiral McRaven’s advice and started making my bed every day.
Since starting this in December 2023, I’ve incorporated other daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. Here’s what I’ve noticed:
- Daily — These focus on small lifestyle habits that take some discipline, but I have no excuse to NOT do. I wake up motivated and excited to start my day and go to bed easier knowing I have accomplished my mission. Not only that, It’s given me a newfound sense of confidence and I take pride in completing these small tasks through the day.
- Weekly — Most of these revolve around my personal fitness and keeping myself accountable by documenting my journey. My weekly tasks encourage me to make healthier decisions and be more intentional about who and how I spend my time and energy with.
- Monthly — Writing this article was one of my tasks for this first month. These longer-term tasks focus on learning, enriching my relationships, and giving me something fun to work towards. To complete these tasks, I have to think more strategically about the various sub-tasks that take multiple days/weeks to complete. For example, keeping up with my daily tasks and weekly goals gave me the foundation, insight, and knowledge to write this article.
It’s awesome to see what the power of compounding can do. It’s also important to know that there isn’t a perfect time to start, or a correct way to do things. As time goes on, I will be adding onto and/or modifying my tasks to suit my goals. The key is to be consistent, compound, and take pride in what you do.
Initially, I thought of titling this article something like “My New Years Resolutions in 2024”. But I realized that this has nothing to do with 2024, 2025, or any other year. These are timeless habits, commitments, attitudes, perspectives, and lifestyle changes that last…well, a lifetime!
