The Sound of Quitting
I got this picture from a friend who was able recently to tour the Navy Seals training facility in San Diego. Notice two things in the picture: the row of helmets and the bell. This is the bell they must ring if they decide to quit during the intense qualification time (think Lone Survivor). After they ring the bell, they lay their helmet down in this row as a monument to those who didn’t make it.
My friend was being given a tour by a current Seal. He asked the Seal, “What causes someone to ring the bell?” His answer: “I have no idea, I would never ring that bell. You’ll have to ask one of the guys that did.”
I wonder what emotions you’d feel as you approached the bell and then physically went through with ringing it? What does your hand feel like as you grab the rope? Does it sound different to you than the others that hear it?
More importantly, what if there were a bell for us whenever we took the easy way out on something instead of pushing through the conflict? Would we try harder? Would we give it more time? Would that actually be a deterrent for us? But I also realize, based on the Seal’s answer to my friend’s question, that there are essentially two types of people: those that can fathom ringing the bell, and those that have no idea what that would be like. So which one are you?
Tags: Leadership, Life
October 20th, 2009 at 9:31 AM
It depends on what we are talking about. For me, I get that same sort of aversion to quitting, but only on certain things, things that I know are good, that I know I was made for. I think the Seals who make it have that same feeling, that they were made to be Seals.
I think it’s a question of purpose. I’m pretty sure a Seal wouldn’t mind quitting a ballroom dancing class or knitting competition, just as I’m sure a professional dancer would be fine quitting Seal training.
Richard´s last blog… Mercy (Catherine Rohr)
October 20th, 2009 at 1:00 PM
The only way that bell would ring around me is if someone was beating me to death with it. I totally understand what he’s saying about not understanding how people quit. Quitting is a selfish act that effects all the people who have invested their time, love, and energy in what, they believed, you could’ve become…
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:58 AM
In church, there are bells all over the place. Unfortuanely, they are like library books. You can check out committment and check it back in when ever you want. then, you can check out another ministry and ring the bell when you want out. I wonder if people would be more inclined to ring the bell if they knew, like the Seals, that once you checked out, you could never come back. I think we make it too easy for people to walk out the door by not locking it behind them.
Greg M´s last blog… Reminders From The Past