the biggest badass was the quietest person in the room

Tonight I made a new friend who is married to an ex Navy SEAL. I have this image of Navy SEALs being total badasses (which they totally are) and so it kind of caught me off guard how incredibly polite and kind he was. Like, there was no 'bad assery' in his demeanor the way I somehow thought there might be?

And I am pretty sure it's because he's such a badass. Like, I don't know what kind of stuff Navy Seals do in combat but something tells me shit gets fucking real, you know? I imagine things get really difficult, really challenging. You have to be basically a superior human to succeed in that area.

And that's it. He's probably proven himself in his actions, in his values, in the way he lives his life every day. So of course he is going to be quiet and kind and thoughtful and polite. He has no ego, because he's like, already proven that away from himself.

In contrast, I can be loud, I can brag, I can create unnecessary intrigue and muddy the waters to make them seem deep.

It's a sign that I haven't acted enough. I have not lived my values deeply enough to rid myself of the need to prove them.

If I was truly living my values to their fullest, I wouldn't need to talk about them. Everyone would just be able to clearly see them through the way I carried myself and the actions I took in my daily life.

I have to get out of empty, vain words, and into action.

PS: How can I do that? What will it take? What will I do? I don't know yet, but... I think I need to make a bunch of small changes, and maybe a couple big ones too. Guess we'll find out together!