The Shovel

The Navy Seals have a bell similar to the Liberty Bell that is around at every possible moment during their training. It begs to be rung as you endure the nonstop, mind numbing and body crushing training that all Navy Seals must complete in order to get the prestigious title. The bell is, simply put, an easy way out. Feel like you hit your limit? Go ahead and ring that bell… Convinced yourself that you aren’t made of the stuff you thought you were? One quick tap and it’s back home you go. Scared to do any more training for fear of failure? Ring that bell and replace that fear with unshakable memory of the moment you let your mind and emotions bully yourself into believing you’re a failure. Simple transaction!

What about the OTHER side of it? The potential positive side… Don’t get me wrong, the Navy Seal bell is necessary for their neck of the woods. I just feel that too many real life, day-to-day boot camps, exercise programs, and miracle routines try too hard to instill the fear of shame in you to drive you when us “normal” citizens don’t necessarily get motivated like that. Quite the contrary… the mere thought is enough to make someone who NEEDS health and fitness in their life to sprint in the opposite direction since they’d rather die a slow, unhealthy death than face their worse fears of being yelled at about how miserable they are. I’ve always felt that if you’re reaching out to a boot camp program to seize your life back, then you already know what being defeated feels like. You already know the sadness and frustration at constantly giving up on yourself. You might even search for your own “life bell” to ring, yet one doesn’t exist, so you have no choice but to trudge on… Simple and plain, odds are you know what it feels like to be broken down, no need to break you down anymore.
So, once again… What about the positive side? What about a symbol of hope rather than a symbol of failure? Something someone can look to when they are at their lowest and be reminded that they have something WORTH fighting for… THEMSELVES!!! Something that could always be around when you need that extra “umph” to make it past the “I can’t” mentality. It was the “I can’t” mentality that has you wanting this so bad in the first place! What if a symbol could instill a POSITIVE drive to push on rather than an easy way out?

What does the shovel represent to us?

“Victory.”

“A Choice.”

“My Strength.”

“To dig deeper.”

“Hope.”

“My ability to do anything.”

“Something better.”

 

I think it’s safe to say we’ve found our positive symbol! As we all know, you plant a positive seed then you get a positive flower. Keep hoisting the shovel Rebels, because that’s what it’s meant for! View it with pride and admiration, knowing that at the end of this challenge you will be signing the shovel with pride and leaving your mark in the Rebellion legacy.

And remember our mantra:

“What does a shovel do?!”

“DIGS DEEP!”

“What does a rebel do?!”

“DIGS DEEPER!!!”