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Ringing the Bell



Before a sailor becomes a Navy SEAL, he must complete a grueling six-month training and selection process called Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL or “BUDS.” It is a torturous endeavor designed to push even the toughest sailors to their physical and mental limits.

Inside the BUDS training compound hangs a bell. If you want to quit, just ring the bell. If you ring the bell, there’s no more long runs in wet fatigues, no more early morning swims in the cold ocean, no more brutal sessions of excruciating calisthenics, no more sleepless nights. All the pain, all the frustration, all the exhaustion can stop. Ring the bell and you can have a nice warm shower, a hot meal and crawl into a warm bed. Ring the bell and you can have comfort again, at least for a while.

But you if ring the bell, you also can never become a SEAL. You will never be elite. You will never accomplish “what could have been.” If you pay attention to how people around you talk and watch how they live their lives, you can hear it. If you listen closely, you can hear them ringing the bell. They’ve already given in. They’ve already quit and chosen momentary comfort, but quite possibly, a lifetime of regret.

Just like those prospective SEALs doing endless pushups, sit-ups and flutter kicks, each of us has a bell and it calls out to us regularly. It promises comfort and pleasure, solace and calm. Don’t give in to the deception, even if most around you already have. Don’t ring the bell.

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