A few years ago, I had the opportunity to meet a retired US Navy Seal. He became to me a great friend and confidant, something not unlike a mentor, and I am immensely grateful for the opportunity of having gotten to know him.
As a result of our friendship, I became more interested in the elusive world of the Navy Seal, and I found myself reading, studying and watching everything I could find for a time. I was amazed by their focus and dedication to the completion of a mission. I was astounded by their physical and mental prowess, both on the battlefield and in the training arena. Perhaps more than anything else I was inspired by the unwavering commitment thy showed to their Brother Seals and the code of conduct that guided them on their journey every day.
One particular day, as I was watching a retired Special Operations instructor work with a group of civilians in a training session, I heard him say, “Yeah, this sucks, but whining won’t get it taken care of. Embrace the suck to overcome it!”
I haven’t forgotten that.
And he was right.
When I have shied away from the suck of any situation in my life, be it professional or personal, I have lost the ability to solve the situation and move past it. Instead, it then batters me about, like a storm that never ends, and leaves me exhausted and no further ahead.
But, curiously enough, when I embrace the suck, the difficulty, the ugly aspects of the things that have to be taken care of, I am able to eliminate them.
And then I move forward.
What is something in your life that sucks? What is something that you have been postponing doing, waiting for the right time and the right circumstances, waiting for things to be just right so that you can attack this sucky thing with a guaranteed chance of winning? Write it down! Stare at it; then realize that the only way that you will ever overcome it is by embracing the suck.
Stop avoiding it, embrace it, and you will overcome it.
What do you think?
Style, Substance and the Man of Today 