In Brief: Essential Insights for Post-Military Transition
26 Jun 2023 · 5 min
0:00
In this solo InBrief episode, host Jordana Megonigal, CEO of the Recon Network, explores the concept of "embracing the suck"—a mindset shift from avoiding discomfort to leaning into it and appreciating the growth it offers. She opens with a vivid anecdote about bison that charge into an oncoming storm, using their behavior as a metaphor for confronting challenges head‑on to minimize suffering. Jordana contrasts this natural strategy with the human tendency to flee or wait out pain, noting that our fight‑or‑flight response is typically reactive rather than anticipatory. She then examines the military phrase "embrace the suck," clarifying that it means not just tolerating hardship but actively appreciating it. A personal story about her COVID‑19 quarantine illustrates how forced isolation made her value everyday comforts she once took for granted, reinforcing the idea that we recognize the worth of something only after its absence. Jordana weaves in a broader philosophical principle that opposites—good/bad, light/dark, silence/noise—define each other, arguing that true appreciation arises from experiencing both sides. The episode concludes with practical advice: when a metaphorical storm approaches, instead of trying to avoid it, lean into it, listen to what it teaches, and use the experience to deepen appreciation for both the challenge and the subsequent calm.
Chapters
This is InBrief. Let's get to it. Hello, welcome back to the InBrief podcast. Each week we take a few minutes, we talk about a topic that hopefully makes your transition a little bit easier, and at the very least gives you a new perspective to take into a new week. I'm Jordana. I'm the CEO of the Recon Network. And this week, we're talking about embracing the suck. So the other day, I heard an anecdote about bison. You know, those large animals out west that some people refer to as buffalo. Spoiler alert, they're not buffalo. It is something I will fight you on. But we could get into the scientific data later. So for right now, I just want to talk about bison. So this is interesting. Did you know that when a large storm is rolling in, bison will, as a herd, start charging toward it? So while other animals are running away or looking for shelter to hide and ride out the storm, bison head straight into the weather. And while I typically don't think of bison as really sentient beings, this is an incredibly smart response to impending weather. They know that if they run into the storm, they can minimize their amount of time in that storm and also the amount of pain or discomfort that they suffer because of it. So at its most basic level, to shorten the pain of being in the storm, run into it so it passes over you. Well, it turns out they may be a bit smarter than us humans when it comes down to it. See, as humans, our natural response to pain or discomfort or trouble is to typically avoid it. Sometimes that means running away from it. Sometimes that means waiting it out. Sometimes that means trying to figure out a way you don't have to deal with it at all. And even when it comes to our natural physiological responses like fight or flight, those happen when trouble is on you, not coming your way. They can be anticipatory, But most of us, if we can avoid a fight, will choose flight every time. So what happens when you run away from the storm and it catches up with you? All that energy that you're spending on resistance and running, well, you'll need to be able to keep that up for a lot longer than if you just faced it head on and took the blows as they came. This is what bison know that we don't. Now, if you've ever been in the military, it's highly likely that you've heard about embracing the suck. It's a pretty common saying, and in service, it basically boils down to, hey, things are going to suck and you're not going to be able to get out of it, so just learn to live with it. But that's not really what embracing the suck is. Embracing the suck means leaning into it, seeing it for what it really is, and being able to not only accept it but appreciate it. But how are we supposed to do that when our natural human response Is to get away from it. Well, we have to shift our mindset. I remember the first time I got COVID a few weeks into the pandemic, and the only thing I could do was quarantine from my family in one room for like 10 to 14 days. By day 6, I hated TV and I was tired of sleeping, and all I wanted to do was hug my kids and walk out in the sun and clean my house. All of the things that typically I didn't like or avoided or took for granted, I suddenly realized how important they were. There's a principle and many sayings that illustrate a simple concept: you can't have good without bad, or light without dark, or silence without noise. Life is balance, and each side of the balance allows us to see see and appreciate the other. The reality is you don't really appreciate the silence until you've been in a car with 3 fighting teenagers for 5 hours. You don't appreciate the sunshine until it's been raining for 2 weeks straight. And not only do we not appreciate these things, we might complain about them until we realize how important they really are. So embracing the suck of the things that we find challenging in this life isn't just about getting through them. It's about appreciating what they are teaching us along the way. It isn't about running through the storm as fast as possible. It's about hearing the storm and being able to appreciate the sound of thunder and about feeling the wind in your face and knowing that rain is necessary for survival. It's a multifaceted, highly complex way to see challenges in front of you. But I promise, if you can make this shift in how you approach every storm, It will change how you view your entire world. So instead of trying to make life easier when a storm is coming your way, find a way to lean into it. Listen to what it's telling you and use the experience to really appreciate the calm that you had before and the calm that you will undoubtedly have again.
