The Art of Embracing Misery

The Marines have a catchy slogan: The Few, The Proud, The Marines.

They are known as a mentally-tough fighting machine, trained to project our country with incredible bravery. 

When author Stephen Pressfield joined the Marines, it wasn’t on his own free will. Pressfield admits he was reluctant to go and serve, especially with a corps of servicemen who would turn baby-faced young men into trained, high-level solders.

Later Pressfield would learn the Marines were not as efficient as their reputation. They were tremendous at teaching you how to be miserable. Yes, miserable, to the Marines, according to Pressfield, is a wonderful trait. 

Being miserable means you can do your work when the food is cold, the climate is freezing, when the equipment breaks down, when they provide fewer men and women for an advancement.

When sleeping isn’t an option, or when the odds aren’t in your favor, the Marines teach perseverance, to carry forward, to welcome a grumpy demeanor and still get an incredible outcome. For Marines, nothing needs to be perfect, only the results. 

Often, when we are lacking in funds, facilities and the other perks our competitors seem to enjoy, we become miserable, self-defeated and allow the circumstances to control our production. Not the Marines.

They relish in being miserable. They use it like another weapon in their arsenal to prove they can defeat any enemy at any time, even when less equipped. 

Nothing is ever going to be perfect when we are facing an opponent or having to lead others. There are no perfect players, nor are there perfect situations. When you take on a new job that seems perfect, after six weeks, you realize why the last person failed. Then, you become less enthused with the new work and complain about all that you lack. 

In business, when things aren’t going well, most leaders believe throwing money at the problem is the right course of action. Attempting to solve an issue primarily through financial expenditure, often without thoroughly analyzing the underlying causes or exploring alternative solutions, can prove counterproductive and stop curiosity and divergent thinking.

Marines never want more money, they relish in not having, using their brain power as their currency. For them, having less is more — which makes them miserable and ultra productive. 

When you throw money into a problem here is what often occurs:

• Address the symptom rather than the root cause of the problem, meaning you’ll end up spending more money to truly fix the problem later.

• Settling for the quickest solution rather than the most appropriate one. (This includes settling for a lesser quality or desirable product or service than the one you would really prefer.)

• Actually getting cheated. Some unscrupulous people will take advantage of your desperation.

Before spending money, hiring new people or looking for the quick solution, take the Marines’ approach and learn to embrace miserable and learn to be without.

Before long, your creative juices will flow — and your work will be rewarded. 

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