Pick It Up & Put It In Your Pocket

Few phrases are as well recognized, and yet so unknown as Semper Fi. It is the motto of the Marine Corps, and it means always faithful. I could write a vague post about staying faithful and what not, but I’d rather talk about something else.

My younger brother graduated this past weekend from platoon 3442 of the Marine Corps as a Private First Class. Once he was released to us, he started spinning tales of his time as a recruit. Now, you get a lot of good stories in 4 months, but one story burnt itself to the front of my mind. If a marine was caught spitting by his drill instructor, the DI would tell him to literally pick it up and put it in his pocket.

“Pick it up and put it in your pocket!!”

Perhaps you don’t grasp what that means. The poor, tired, and emotionally spent marine would have to lean down towards the ground, cover the spit in dirt, and then lift the muddy mess into his pocket and carry it around. No one in their right mind would think this is a reasonable task; but I don’t think I’m always in my right mind.

Sorry ladies, but this next part is for the Endudes. Men, we need to start manning up.

As progressive people we like to think that everything is fluid. Well, I’m here to say that manning up is not fluid, it is structured like concrete. In 2014, you might hear someone tell a guy to man up and text a girl (o no, so scary) but in 1941 man up meant sacrificing your life for another. If the scariest thought in your head right now is being outside of your comfort zone, then you are far from manning up. Your comfort zone is a nice little bubble that you can sit in, then outside of it is discomfort, and then outside of that is suffering. The bubble of suffering is so far from your comfort zone that you have no choice but to be a man, or die trying. Imagine being in the desert, and you can’t see civilization no matter where you look; that’s the realm of suffering.

We see a lot of guys who act bold and outlandish, and sometimes we think “Wow, that guy is out of his comfort zone.” However, that’s not always the case. Some men, shall we call them boys, throw the dirt of arrogance on top of their insecurities. They walk around everywhere in cut off T’s (#sunsoutgunsout) and constantly materialize women. Their clothes have to be “fresh” and their life has to be perfect. These are the guys who throw a temper tantrum when their meal isn’t cooked right, or they can’t workout without their pre-workout and gym clothes. I say forget that mentality and just man up. Comfort zones are not manly, being uncomfortable is not manly, keeping your chin up during suffering is manly.

Manning up means being in the realm of suffering and keeping the characteristics that you yourself admire. When the Apostle Peter was crucified upside down, because he believed he was not worthy to die the same way as Jesus, that was manly. When Lebron broke down into tears because he was cramping during the championship game, that was not manly; that was barely uncomfortable.

Ultimately, manning up means taking responsibility for your mistakes. If you have a goal, and you get lazy, don’t make a single excuse for why you failed. Excuses put us back in our comfort zone. Excuses tuck us into bed, kiss us on the forehead, and tell us that we are perfect. Men don’t need excuses.

If I do wrong by my wife, my first instinct is to make an excuse. I immediately revert back to being a child as I sprint back to my comfort zone. However, deep in my belly I know that I should take responsibility for my mistakes.

As men, we need to stop spinning tales and blaming others for our shortcomings. We fail because we think the bubble of discomfort is as far as we need to go. We love having our comfort zone within throwing distance. When men screw up, they suck it up, throw some dirt on it and then put it in their pocket. No excuses. No whining. Just dirty spit in your pocket reminding you not to do it again.