Veteran Mettle

When I say that this site shares veterans' stories of success after service, here is the simple idea of what I mean by success. Continuing forward out of the past. Staying hungry, reaching for something new. Acknowledging the past, but not letting it define who you are today. Progress through adaptation and evolution. My ideal of success is happiness. Some days getting out of bed is a success. Some days fighting back the urge to quit, the comfort of hiding, and the desire to numb is a draining success. To be successful, just start small.

When I was at a pretty confused (sad and angry) point in my life I decided I needed to start boiling things down to eliminate clutter and allow for progress. I did some reading online and talking with friends and mentors. I came up with a couple little things that I began doing here and there. At first I forced myself to do them, then they were simple tasks, finally I started to enjoy them some. In no order: 1 - get 15 minutes of sunshine a day. No sunglasses, and being behind glass doesn't count. 2 - eat something healthy. a plant, a fruit, or an animal. 3 - workout. doesn't need to be crazy, at least get out of the house and keep the cobwebs from forming. 4 - find someone you can break balls with. shoot the shit, joke around a little. 5 - be more mindful, slow down and be more present instead of frantically moving from task to task. 6 - read. find something interesting and read it. 7 - connect with someone from your service. these are some of mine, you don't need ...

Feeling lost or feeling like you don't really have a reason to leave your house? Make a list of shit that you liked on active duty. Put everything on there whether it's big or little. Make a long list, include the things you didn't like; they're useful too. The point is to find something that you can get back into, spend time learning the intricacies, build skill, eliminate doubt - something to be passionate about again. If you really liked something, get back into it. Choose something positive - working on cars, reading, learning how to cook, working out, helping others - then go after it! You owe it to yourself to find something you enjoy. Start small by just learning more then go have some fun. Look online and talk to people, whatever you can to learn more. As for the things that you don't like, use the list to avoid distractions. Avoid those things to allow yourself more time for new things. Here's the start of my list - LIKES - guns, sunrises, sleeping, ...