Chores aren’t supposed to be fun. They keep our houses clean and organized, yes, but we aren’t actually supposed to garner from chores any major positive benefits, right? Surely when we make our bed we don’t change the world at-large.
Actually, one retired Navy SEAL and Admiral may beg to differ.
In his inspirational commencement speech to the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin, Admiral William McRaven states: “If you wanna change the world, start off by making your bed.” I know, hard to believe. But he explains that making your bed every morning means you will have accomplished the first task of the day. Along with this accomplishment you will carry a sense of pride, which, as McRaven believes, will set the tone for the rest of the day.
It’s a simple move that comes with major results.
The idea of making your bed consistently will become a matter of practiced discipline, and “it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another,” McRaven underscores. “By the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”
Author Charles Duhigg, in his book The Power of Habit, agrees with McRaven here, saying how an initial shift like routinely making your bed can “start chain reactions that help other good habits take hold.” Duhigg even explains how a daily bed-making routine is “correlated with better productivity, a greater sense of well-being, and stronger skills at sticking with a budget.” Who would have thought that this simple chore would get your room, health, and your finances in order?
Ultimately, McRaven reminds us that making the bed reminds us that the little things matter. One small success can push us towards going after other, bigger successes. And if not that, a made bed will always offer encouragement, in the form of comfort. “If by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made–that you made. And a made bed, McRaven assures us, “gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.”
Want to be inspired? Check out this excerpt of Admiral McRaven’s commencement speech below…