“Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe, The World” will be blitzing campus now through the spring semester.
Selected as Brookdale’s next global read book, “Make Your Bed” will find its way into multiple classrooms and courses next semester and will be discussed in a variety of ways and at several programs across the curriculum and beyond.
Written by Admiral William H. McRaven, a retired Navy Seal, this inspirational book is based on a graduation address McRaven first gave to students at the University of Texas in 2014. The speech was based jointly off the university’s slogan, “What starts here changes the world” and 10 principles he learned during Navy Seals training.
Well respected and regarded as a beacon of strength and resolve, Admiral McRaven called on students to prepare for the future and consider the consequences of their choices. In the book, he details his time in the military, fractions of his life that at the time seemed minuscule but proved to have a great impact on his life and the importance of perseverance.
McRaven tells readers that only through taking risks and challenging yourself can you grow into who you are meant to become.
But, he insists, this all starts with making your bed.
McRaven believes young people do not know the length and will of their own success and often take it for granted. His initial speech was so well received and impactful that it went viral. This encouraged him to turn the speech into a book so that he could reach millions, not just hundreds.
“Make Your Bed” is Brookdale’s fifth global read book, joining such works as “The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World” and “Everything Change: An Anthology of Climate Fiction.” The global read program began in 2017 and has been a great success on campus with multiple disciplines adopting the book for discussion within their courses. Part of the college’s Global Citizenship Project, the global read is designed to inspire students to think globally and engage in a collegewide conversation.
“You can’t go it alone,” is former Brookdale student Chrissy Maber’s favorite quote from the book. “This book made me reflect on my time at Brookdale and how I was uplifted by so many faculty members, peers and this community.”
“Brookdale gave so many outlets for success, and it makes me honored to have attended here and have my name etched in the books,” said Maber, who graduated in 2017. “I was not alone at all here, and this book resonated deeply with me.”
Another glistening aspect about this book is specifically Chapter 5, “Failure Can Make You Stronger.” In this chapter, McRaven details how many people pale at the word “failure.” Everyone has a fear of disappointing, of screwing up. It is something that plagues not only the youth, but also many adults. Though, failure is important; it is a reflection of trying, or at least, the act of it.
“Failure provides you the chance to slow down and evaluate,” said Dr. Ashley Zampogna-Krug. “The reward is learning from your mistakes, not just always being successful.”
Zampogna-Krug, who is a history professor and the faculty liaison to GCP, said McRaven hammers this point home significantly in his book, discussing the ebbs and flows of failure and how it opens the door to more opportunities rather than challenges. Failure is a mode for self-reflection, a moment to look intuitively into oneself. Failure is a catalyst for evaluation and resilience.
“Everybody is going to take something different from this book,” Zampogna-Krug said. “That’s what is so fantastic about this book. There are so many lessons that can impact every person differently. There are lessons for all types of situations, experiences that can help others reflect on their own.”
The title, “Make Your Bed,” can be taken in both a metaphorical and literal sense. Someone making their bed as the first thing they do after they wake up is seen as providing a sense of accomplishment early in the day. There is gratification one can get from doing something as small as that. This can help someone complete other tasks during the day as well.
“There are some days, I make my bed. And there are some days, I don’t, and I feel incomplete,” Maber said. “It feels like when I make my bed, there is a sense of completion at the start of my day, as if I started my day off correctly and do everything else the same and in order.”
In regard to a metaphorical sense, making your bed can be a subtle, but meaningful approach. It can be regarded as building blocks or pathways to successful ventures in one’s livelihood. The steps can be seen as a process of deciding who you want to be and where your life may take you. It can be defining factors that you set forward for yourself, tasks and choices even.
“I think making your bed can also be building interactions, making decisions, and striving for success and finding failure. I think the determination one puts in themselves helps them make their bed, or make the right choices. You determine how you want to live your life. Making your bed becomes that process,” Zampogna-Krug said.
The intention of this chapter, perhaps the best chapter in the book, is that it is supposed to move audiences away from the notion that failure breeds unsuccessful results. Instead, it treats failure as a guiding compass. One can learn from their mistakes and become better because of them. Failure does not mean the end; it can also signify a brand new beginning.
McRaven intends the book to become a manual, a guide for youth and others to cope with the uncertainty that awaits at adulthood. It is designed to be a comfort by teaching the value of setting goals for yourself, even small ones, and doing what you can to maintain those goals. This book is a marker for self-discipline and actuality, providing 10 life lessons to achieve success beyond imagination. McRaven draws all these important points through the fundamental principle of making your bed. As a former Seal, he believes making his bed provided routine and structure that set not only the precedent for his day, but for the rest of his life.
McRaven also emphasizes the point of making your bed as taking the reins or control of your life. One could dictate how their life goes by the choices and decisions only they can choose to make for themselves. They can do this through meaningful, conscious actions and always having a positive mindset to be a better person every single day.
Deciding to take action, even small, but with careful concentration and deliberation, can go a long way in somebody’s life. You do not have to be a Navy Seal to understand the fundamental principle or see its importance. In doing the little things, you can be greater than yourself or what you think you can be, which is why you should read “Make Your Bed.’’
Finally, check out this video of Zampogna-Krug and Maber announcing the global read book.