**Disclaimer*** It has been a rough few weeks of meeting countless high schoolers (the future of our world) that are completely accepting of a less than successful life. Kids that have given up and have no desire to try again because of one little bump in the road. As my frustrations built I mind dumped into this.
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Mods: Not sure if this goes here or in Self-Development so feel free to move it.
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Show Some Heart
Heart. We say it all the time in the military and it is something I scream at my Future Soldiers all the time.
“Have some heart dammit! We’ve barely even gone a mile and you’re already falling out? Dig deep, find your heart!”
People call it different things, there was even a TV show about it called American Grit. But whether you call it grit, motivation, drive, determination, or cheesecake it all boils down to the same thing: Having some damn heart.
I have the distinct privilege of being on recruiting duty currently. That means that I get to work with local high schools and the upcoming generation as well as those of my own age and above, seeing a wide variety of personalities. The one overwhelming thing that I have noticed is the lack of heart that people seem to have anymore and, quite frankly, it saddens and enrages me.
Being in the Army I know I see things differently than most people so instead of putting in a ton of military examples and such I am trying to make this as accessible as possible.
What is heart? Heart to me is holding on just a second longer than fear. Heart is putting up the barbell for one more rep even though you are tired. Heart is finishing the 5k for charity you started even though you are cramping up. Heart is making another call to a manufacturer even though you’ve been stonewalled by the last thirty. Heart is missing three hours of sleep to finish editing your blog post or novel because you set yourself a deadline.
Heart is what makes you finish what you start. It means not accepting the status-quo and becoming just one more mechanic at Uncle Bobby’s Truck Repair down the road. It means not caring when tour buddy said your business idea was stupid because it meant you have to work on it instead of grabbing a beer. Heart is what makes you matter, and matter to yourself.
Far too many times have I seen, or even been the victim of, one thing going wrong and then finding a way to justify why the whole project was stupid and scrapping it. Today’s society is all about consumption and quantity. Nothing is valued or matters anymore since it can be so easily replaced. There’s one roadblock on the path to having a successful business? Better scrap that whole business idea than and it doesn’t matter because I’ve got 74 other ones.
Adversity breeds success, it builds hard people, it builds strong people. Those people have heart. They know what it is to hit a roadblock, to fail miserably, to have their dreams crushed and then, one they have had every hope and dream destroyed they know what it is to get up and keep driving one, keep moving forward and finding another way to make themselves succeed.
It sickens me that I’ve let myself accept this before and it sickens me to see how maybe people accept mediocrity in life. It doesn’t matter if you are the lone 82nd Private digging a foxhole to make a stand in the middle of a retreat during the Battle of the Ardennes or if you’re trying to lose 15 pounds, or if you are trying to build a $100 per month business. Never stop taking steps towards your goal, never allow yourself to stop.
Dig deep, to that place inside you that you know one has seen, to the fire that everyone has and find your damn heart.
-------------
Mods: Not sure if this goes here or in Self-Development so feel free to move it.
------------
Show Some Heart
Heart. We say it all the time in the military and it is something I scream at my Future Soldiers all the time.
“Have some heart dammit! We’ve barely even gone a mile and you’re already falling out? Dig deep, find your heart!”
People call it different things, there was even a TV show about it called American Grit. But whether you call it grit, motivation, drive, determination, or cheesecake it all boils down to the same thing: Having some damn heart.
I have the distinct privilege of being on recruiting duty currently. That means that I get to work with local high schools and the upcoming generation as well as those of my own age and above, seeing a wide variety of personalities. The one overwhelming thing that I have noticed is the lack of heart that people seem to have anymore and, quite frankly, it saddens and enrages me.
Being in the Army I know I see things differently than most people so instead of putting in a ton of military examples and such I am trying to make this as accessible as possible.
What is heart? Heart to me is holding on just a second longer than fear. Heart is putting up the barbell for one more rep even though you are tired. Heart is finishing the 5k for charity you started even though you are cramping up. Heart is making another call to a manufacturer even though you’ve been stonewalled by the last thirty. Heart is missing three hours of sleep to finish editing your blog post or novel because you set yourself a deadline.
Heart is what makes you finish what you start. It means not accepting the status-quo and becoming just one more mechanic at Uncle Bobby’s Truck Repair down the road. It means not caring when tour buddy said your business idea was stupid because it meant you have to work on it instead of grabbing a beer. Heart is what makes you matter, and matter to yourself.
Far too many times have I seen, or even been the victim of, one thing going wrong and then finding a way to justify why the whole project was stupid and scrapping it. Today’s society is all about consumption and quantity. Nothing is valued or matters anymore since it can be so easily replaced. There’s one roadblock on the path to having a successful business? Better scrap that whole business idea than and it doesn’t matter because I’ve got 74 other ones.
Adversity breeds success, it builds hard people, it builds strong people. Those people have heart. They know what it is to hit a roadblock, to fail miserably, to have their dreams crushed and then, one they have had every hope and dream destroyed they know what it is to get up and keep driving one, keep moving forward and finding another way to make themselves succeed.
It sickens me that I’ve let myself accept this before and it sickens me to see how maybe people accept mediocrity in life. It doesn’t matter if you are the lone 82nd Private digging a foxhole to make a stand in the middle of a retreat during the Battle of the Ardennes or if you’re trying to lose 15 pounds, or if you are trying to build a $100 per month business. Never stop taking steps towards your goal, never allow yourself to stop.
Dig deep, to that place inside you that you know one has seen, to the fire that everyone has and find your damn heart.
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