231. Do hard things.

Do hard things   The older I get, the further I get away from the day-to-day life in the SEAL teams, the clearer I become on a great many things.    The older I get the clearer I see the importance of being a father, of staying alive and being attentive to my family.   The older I get the easier my reactions are to politics and threats of the end of the world and existential crisis like global warming trends trailing an ice age.   Yet something is not being made clear to our society and our youth today and social media is spanking the true hardness out of youth.  So, sit back and listen and watch or read what I am going to share.  If this pisses you off, good?  If this inspires you to act, even better?    Let me first just come out and say it, 90% of the people listening to this have No fucking idea what Hard is.  You lead a protected life and the real predators are all but killed off.  And you can go to a store and buy food or even steel it.  You don't understand hard.   Let me tell you some truths:             Marriage is hard                     Divorce is hard                        avoiding either is weak   Being fat is really fucking hard           getting fit is hard as hell         avoiding both is weak   Losing a job and having debt is hard              having financial discipline is really hard.           Taking a govt hand out is weak   Speaking plainly and clear is harder than you think Deciding not to speak is also hard                                                                         Blaming others for speaking out is weak   Being straight is hard              being gay is really hard     Not having intimacy at all is weak   Making and keeping a promise is hard          quitting is extremely hard on your life                                     Never committing is weak   Learning to fight and face violence is hard                not learning to protect your self is rude and hard                                         giving up the right to protect yourself is weak   Being a republican is hard                  being a democrat is hard                                                                                                 Not taking a side is weak   School is hard not going to school is hard                                                 Expecting a job because someone else is successful is weak   Being born male is hard                      being born female is hard                                                                                                 Not accepting either is weak     Waking up early because you want to is hard Waking up early because you have to is hard                                                                         Hitting the snooze 5 times is weak   Training for an ultra marathon is very hard Not training for anything is even harder on your body                                                                         Drinking beer watching a football game is weak     Being injured and watching others progress is hard Helping others through injury is very hard                                                             Having never been injured or helped another is weak   Being a dad is hard Being a mom is hard                                                 Not trying to raise a family at all is weak   Killing is very hard Watching someone be killed is hard                                                             Never facing down an enemy at all is weak     If you are on the weak side, hard will find you and you will not be ready.    As I close and trust me I could go on for days about the weak times I see and the hard men and challenges I have witnessed, yet let me say the hardest thing you will ever have to encounter is starting over with nothing.    I wish everyone that level of hardness.  I wish you the hardness it takes to start over at the bottom with nothing.