Learn To Embrace The Suck!

I did some military training at an Army base in Illinois in the 80’s. By virtue of my assignment, being attached to a particular unit, I was subject to the requirements of that unit. During my time with them we played some war games. Numerous times during that time did I hear the term “Embrace the suck!” The term “embrace the suck” is a term widely used in the military when talking about a job or task that is pointless, tiring, or downright lame. As preppers it’s also important that we “embrace the suck” because not everything we watch or read is as easy as it seems. We all see the pictures of a thriving garden or the perfect shooter, but we never see the behind the scenes work that went into the final product. Growing vegetables takes composting, weeding and constant attention. Being good with a gun takes time, practice, and determination. These behind the scenes details are the “suck” we need to embrace. These aren’t the flashy fun aspects of self-sufficiency, but they could be the difference between having a great final product, or a final product that leaves you disappointed. The mundane tasks like weeding the garden, inventory, rotation and shooting drills, are important if we want to get things right. Cutting corners might save you time, but could lead to a less than satisfactory outcome.
One of the Youtube channels I frequent, and recommend, is the Nutin Fancy Project (TMP). Nutin reviews guns, but also knives, watches, and adventure. He includes his family and friends. I highly recommend it. When they are testing and shooting guns they sometimes use a term “suckless”, meaning, “do it better.” Often I think we need to remind ourselves and others that we strive for excellence and if we suck, suck less. Improve. Be better than you are. Make the best of everything.
Anything you do can be a waste of time when you don’t pay attention to detail. These might seem unimportant during the process, but sometimes the small things are just as important as the big things. If you own a firearm, you also need to learn about firearms safety, cleaning and actually shooting it.
All this behind the scenes stuff, or the “suck” is also one reason preppers lose their motivation. We always think about the ripe tomatoes or what it would be like to be an Operator, but we don’t think about the process of getting there. The process itself could lead us to just put it off until later, and then later never comes.
There is not always an easy solution when it comes to preparing, but that doesn’t mean we don’t try and find one. The truth is, there are some things you just can’t throw money at, and it will take a little hard work to get it done. Shooting is one of those things.
It’s really easy to talk yourself out of something because our brains are designed to keep us safe and fear the unknown. We always think about the worst thing that could happen. The odds are, nothing will ever be as bad (or hard) as our minds made it out to be.
Getting your family to “embrace the suck” is a challenge, but important as well. Your children need to learn that it’s natural to want to avoid the hard things, but it’s important to “embrace the suck” of hard things.
Shakespeare wrote:
“Let thee embrace me, sour adversity, for wise men say it is the wisest course”

Even old Willie counselled us to embrace the suck.
There are two kinds of suckiness. Physical and mental. How do you get past a situation with both? (Combat, natural disaster, etc.) You have to accept the moment as your new reality. Usually it is temporary, but it is the new normal. With this you can commit to thriving rather than just surviving. You have to decide to get through this and maybe even learn and come out better. Ever hear the saying “There are no atheists in the foxholes?” A belief in God and that He is there and will help you makes an immense difference.

We all have a form of suckiness in our lives. Sometimes there is nothing that can be done to make it go away. That’s when we need to learn to Embrace the suck!

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