An integrity breach with Alpha Platoon and your well-being pillars!
“If I quit now, I will soon be back to where I started. And when I started I was desperately wishing to be where I am now”- Unknown
I recently listened to Mark Devine’s Master Class, “Harnessing the Navy SEAL Mindset,” as part of the HEROIC training program and platform. For those of you unfamiliar with Mark Devine, he is a thought leader, an innovator, Navy SEAL Commander, a best-selling author,
a yoga master, an entrepreneur, and a change maker. One of the books that Mark Devine wrote, a New York Times bestseller, is entitled “8 Weeks to SEALfit — A Navy Seal’s Guide to Unconventional Training for Physical and Mental Toughness.”
Although I use the book primarily for workout and training ideas, I came across an interesting story called “Integrity.” Here is the story:
“Lieutenant Divine, I need to speak with you, sir.” Johnson peeked nervously through the door into the Alpha Platoon space.
“What’s up?” I said, busy preparing for our pending deployment to Iraq for Desert Shield.
“Well sir, you see, ah. . .”
“Spit it out, Johnson. I have a lot to do to get ready, and so do you.”
“I’m not going!”
“What do you mean, exactly? . . . You’re not going where?”
“I’m not going to Iraq.” He gave me a strange look.
At first, I didn’t believe him, but the look on his face . . . It made me feel squeamish. This had never happened in the SEALS before.
“I’m a conscientious objector!”
“What the F!” Are you serious? After all that work to get into BUD/S, make it through training, a year work-up with Alpha Platoon, and you’re not going to deploy???”
“Johnson, do you know what integrity is? It’s when you do what you say and say what you think. You just put Alpha Platoon through a 12-month integrity breach.”
Devine further characterized this incident as a weak spot and notes that we all have weak spots.
We all have weak spots when it comes to our five pillars of well-being. Our well-being journey is just that, a journey, it’s not a sprint. Take time to look at the five pillars of well-being and assess where your strengths are, where your weaknesses are, and how can you continue to improve. Forward, always!