Making Your Bed

Making your bed. 

Are you someone who makes your bed religiously every day? I admit that I am not. As a child making my bed was a torturous act required by my mother each morning. She was quite disciplined about daily chores, and attempted to instill this virtue in her six children. 

Now I must admit, I do not like the look of an unmade bed, and in a perfect world would prefer it to be neat and tidy. Unfortunately, the two minutes it does require is something I don't allow myself to do on the mornings that I work. Everything else takes priority over the bed. 

However, Naval Admiral William McRaven would beg to differ. In his commencement speech several years ago at the University of Texas he adviced graduates to begin their day with this small act. "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." 

Now this former Navy SEAL knows a thing or two about accomplishments. For me though, it is not the "should" of the task that encourages me to want to accomplish it. Rather, it is the completely selfish motive of a bed that is undeniably so much more enjoyable to crawl into at the end of the day. A made bed feels so much more comfortable than a crumpled, old wrinkly bed. 

Admiral McRaven continues with these words of inspiration, "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." 

I wish I could be so "admiral" in my reasons why, but alas sometimes my bed is left unmade. However, at night it never fails, I always wish I had been more disciplined in the morning.