Temporarily Clueless
Most recommend that you leave reason behind before joining the army. You do it to become submissive. You do it to make sure you never question or at least require an answer as a soldier. Although I completely agree with this vital recommendation, I came to see that there are also a lot more you need to take with you to make it through an army training.
I should confess that my term as a soldier was short, but it was long enough to observe the impact of the army on a regular person’s life and put its consequences into perspective. With that in mind here is the mindset I found necessary to make it through my training successfully.
As a soldier you need:
- strength to endure the state of being clueless
- cohesion to know that you won’t necessarily know what is coming next
- motivation to stay clean and sterile in an environment that constantly welcomes dirt, mud and sickness
- energy to stay idle for hours
- the mindset to believe in, team up with and trust people from all different backgrounds
- courage to yell your lungs out in front of your superiors to be properly heard and respected
- inner peace to silence your complaints
- order to be able to fit into the smallest cupboards
- to let go of personal space and surrender to sharing
- to be smart enough to recognize opportunities that can give you limited freedom in an entity that is built on ultimate submission and strict hierarchy