It was a gray morning in May 2014. Admiral William H. McRaven stood before the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin. He wasn't there to talk about high-level geopolitical strategy or the intricacies of naval warfare, even though he had spent 37 years as a Navy SEAL. Instead, he started with a chore. He told a bunch of hungover, ambitious, and slightly terrified twenty-somethings that if they wanted to change the world, they should start by making their beds.
It sounded ridiculous.
At first, the crowd chuckled. You spend four years getting a degree in engineering or architecture only to have a four-star Admiral tell you to tuck in your sheets? But within minutes, the make your bed commencement speech became a viral phenomenon that hasn't really left the cultural zeitgeist since. It’s been watched tens of millions of times. It spawned a #1 New York Times best-selling book. But why? Honestly, it’s because McRaven tapped into a psychological truth that most "hustle culture" gurus completely miss.
The Logic Behind the Sheets
The core of the make your bed commencement speech isn't about being a neat freak. McRaven explained it simply: if you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It gives you a small sense of pride. It encourages you to do another task. And another. By the end of the day, that one completed task will have turned into many completed tasks.
It’s about the reinforcement of the "small win" theory. When you wake up and immediately exert control over your environment, you’re setting a mental baseline. If you have a miserable day—if your boss screams at you, if you lose a client, if you get dumped—you come home to a bed that is made. You made it. It’s a physical reminder that tomorrow is a fresh start and that you possess the agency to handle the small things.
SEAL Training: The "Sugar Cookie" and Beyond
McRaven didn't just pull these lessons out of thin air. He pulled them from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training. This is widely considered the toughest military training in the world.
He talked about the "Sugar Cookie."
If a student failed the uniform inspection—if their belt buckle wasn't shiny enough or their hat wasn't perfectly creased—the instructors would make them run into the surf zone, get soaking wet, and then roll around on the beach until they were covered in sand from head to toe. They stayed that way all day. Cold. Chafed. Gritty.
The lesson? Life isn't fair.
You can do everything right. You can make your bed perfectly. You can work harder than everyone else. And you still might end up as a sugar cookie. McRaven’s point was that if you spend your time complaining about unfairness, you'll never move forward. You have to accept the sand, stay wet, and keep paddling.
The Power of the "Munchkin"
One of the most moving parts of the speech involves the "munchkin" crew. In SEAL training, the students are divided into boat crews. One crew was made up of the "little guys"—no one was over five-foot-five. The taller crews made fun of them. But when it came time to paddle those heavy rubber boats through the grueling surf, the "munchkin" crew consistently outperformed everyone else.
They had more heart.
McRaven used this to illustrate that nothing matters more than the size of your heart—not your flippers, not your background, and certainly not your social status.
Why This Resonates in a Post-2020 World
We live in an era of massive, systemic anxiety.
🔗 Read more: Why the Aunt Pearl KD 15 Still Matters in Kevin Durant's Sneaker Legacy
The world feels heavy. Whether it’s economic shifts, global conflict, or the terrifying speed of AI development, most of us feel like we have zero control over the "big stuff." This is why the make your bed commencement speech remains so relevant today. It scales down the "change the world" rhetoric to a human level.
Most commencement speeches are filled with platitudes like "follow your passion" or "reach for the stars." McRaven’s advice was grounded in the dirt and the cold water.
- It acknowledges that life sucks sometimes.
- It admits that you will fail.
- It insists that you need people to help you paddle.
He famously said, "You cannot paddle the boat alone." In an age of increasing isolation, that reminder to find someone to help you through the "muddy week" of life is vital. During "Hell Week," SEAL candidates spend six days without sleep, constantly cold and wet. McRaven told the story of a man who started singing while they were neck-deep in mud. One voice became two, then ten. The singing didn't make the mud warmer, but it made it bearable.
The "Ring the Bell" Trap
In the center of the SEAL training compound hangs a brass bell. All a trainee has to do to quit is ring the bell. Ring it three times, and the pain stops. You get a hot meal. You get a dry bed.
But you regret it for the rest of your life.
McRaven’s ultimatum to the UT Austin graduates was simple: Don’t ever, ever ring the bell. Critics sometimes argue that this "military mindset" is too rigid for civilian life. They say it ignores mental health or the need for rest. But that’s a bit of a misunderstanding. McRaven isn't saying you shouldn't rest; he’s saying you shouldn't quit when things get hard. There’s a massive difference between taking a break and ringing the bell.
How to Actually Apply This Without Being a Soldier
You don't need to be a Navy SEAL to use these principles. You just need a routine.
Basically, the "Make Your Bed" philosophy is about intentionality. If you start your day with a passive act—scrolling TikTok for 40 minutes—you are letting the world happen to you. If you start by making your bed, you are happening to the world.
💡 You might also like: McDonald’s Adult Happy Meal Toys: Why People Are Still Obsessed
It's a small pivot in perspective.
Honestly, some days the only thing I do right is make the bed. And on those days, when the rest of the world feels like a dumpster fire, I can at least look at my bedroom and see one square yard of order that I created. It sounds small because it is. But small things aggregate.
Actionable Takeaways from McRaven’s Philosophy
Instead of just feeling inspired, try these specific shifts in your daily rhythm:
- The 60-Second Win: Don't check your phone until the bed is made. It takes less than a minute. Prove to yourself that you are in charge of your first sixty seconds of consciousness.
- Find Your Boat Crew: Identify two people you can rely on when things get "muddy." Let them know you've got their back, too. Life is a team sport.
- Measure by the Heart: Stop judging your progress based on people who had a head start. The "munchkin" crew won because they worked harder, not because they were bigger.
- Accept the Sand: When things go wrong despite your best efforts, acknowledge it’s a "sugar cookie" day. Don't waste energy asking "why me?" Spend that energy finishing the mission.
- Identify Your "Bell": What is the thing you’re tempted to quit when it gets uncomfortable? Is it your workout? That side project? Your commitment to sobriety? Recognize the bell for what it is—a permanent solution to a temporary discomfort.
The make your bed commencement speech didn't go viral because it offered a magic pill for success. It went viral because it offered a manual for resilience. It told us that while we can't control the ocean, we can certainly control the boat, and we can definitely control the bed we sleep in.
Start there. The rest of the world can wait until the pillows are straight.