Finding Fulfillment: “A Warriors Quest for Serenity”

In your mind’s eye, travel far ahead into the future—to the moment when you find yourself on your deathbed. As you reflect on your life, ask yourself: Are you truly fulfilled? When death takes you, will you be happy because you acquired wealth and notoriety? Or will you be fulfilled because you know you consistently made positive impacts on everything around you until the day you sit there thinking back on your life?

Too often, we confuse fulfillment with success. Countless people live modestly yet are perfectly content, while others, despite their wealth, never find happiness in life. Fulfillment is uniquely yours—it requires true self-awareness and intentional living. Many individuals drift through life without purpose, finding themselves within a relentless cycle of agitation, anxiety, and negativity. This is increasingly true in our digital world, which is filled with countless voices raging on their keyboards into the void, spreading negativity and hatred. The most recent CDC Youth Risk Behavioral Study revealed that 22% of high school students had seriously contemplated suicide, while 42% say they experienced severe depression. These statistics are concerning, as that is our next generation.

The question here isn’t “what can we do about it, but instead “what can I do about it?” What can each of us do, individually, to improve not only our lives but the lives of those around us? How can I use adversity, setbacks, and failures as learning experiences that enable post-traumatic growth and a chance to share these lessons with the next generation?

In 2008, I was severely injured in Afghanistan, and it took four years to fully rebuild my jaw and face. In 2013, I was shot three times by 7.62 x 54mm rounds (big bullets), which resulted in me crashing multiple times on an operating table due to loss of blood. In 2014, I was shot again. Through all that, I am still here. I believe God has allowed me to survive all that so that I can dedicate my life towards making a difference in the lives of others. I believe I’m here for a reason. Since I have the privilege of sharing my story, and you are reading it, I think you, too, must have a purpose—to also positively impact the world around you.

Chuck Ritter, 2008 – Kandahar, Afghanistan

I choose to believe that I am an unstoppable force of nature—a juggernaut that, once in motion, cannot be stopped.

Saying that one is unstoppable sounds arrogant. Even though I genuinely believe that I am unstoppable, I also know that none of us are as incredible or as horrible as we believe ourselves to be on any given day. I understand that Hubris is a great defiler and that we must balance being unstoppable with the very real fact that we are human. As humans, we are incredibly imperfect, fragile, fallible, and often wrong. But within the imperfections of humanity lies our strength: the power of agency, of choice. We cannot control most external events—for instance, a bus careening into my bedroom at 2 am and taking me out is beyond my control. But what I can control, what we can all control, is our mindset, actions, and reactions.

Because we have agency, we always have a choice. We can either jump on the bandwagon of negativity and contribute to the problems in society or choose to be part of the solution. Each day, when I wake up, after completing my routine of meditation, visualization, and prayer (MVP), I ask myself, “What are you doing to make a positive impact on your family, friends, others, and society today?”

There is a quote from an unknown author that says, “Be a blessing to others, and you have a better chance of being blessed yourself.” My question then to you is, “What are you doing daily to positively influence the world around you?”

We can never rest on our laurels. It doesn’t matter how successful we are, what we have done in the past, how much money we have made, or how great we think we are. Life doesn’t end until it does. None of us are getting out of this alive. We will all sit on our deathbeds someday and reflect on our lives. I know I won’t feel fulfilled if I sit there knowing that I have accumulated wealth and accomplished a lot just for myself or even just for my family. I want to look back, knowing I dedicated my entire life to at least attempting to positively impact the next generation.

SGM Chuy Almonte running a leadership camp for inner-city kids as part of the Green Beret Project.

Nobody will care how awesome we thought we were once we are gone. Too many people spend too much time creating the perception that they are fantastic, successful people instead of dedicating time to actually being good human beings. Let’s all focus more on being awesome and making positive impacts on others. These can be small things. Smile more at people; it’s contagious. Hold doors open for people and listen to others instead of speaking. Someone once told me, “Spend more time being interested versus trying to be interesting.” I’ve found that to be powerful, as I tend to transmit more than receive. Check on your friends often and randomly. Reach out to people you haven’t talked to in a long time. We must make the art of being good humans cool again instead of merely trying to appear to be good humans online or otherwise.

Personally, adding value in life means investing my time in causes that inspire and assist others. I will continue this journey post-military career through Objective Arete—a venture dedicated to positively impacting society and inspiring the next generation, alongside Greg Walker and voices like Mike Lerario, who is already making an impact as the host of the Objective Arete Podcast. Click on Mike’s name to check him out. He is an impressive human, and has been great mentor to me and countless others. Our mission isn’t about profit—it’s about helping people find their purpose and then assisting in building a mindset and toolset that allows them to become legendary. Please reach out if you have ideas or want to join us in this quest. Every morning, I ask myself, “How am I making a positive impact today?” I invite you to ask yourself the same every day.

I’ll close with what is known as The Serenity Prayer, which transcends any single religion one may follow: “God, please grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Live with purpose, embrace adversity, and relentlessly pursue excellence.

---

Chuck Ritter is a retiring Army Special Forces sergeant major stationed at Fort Bragg, NC. He is set to retire in 2025. He is a co-founder of Objective Arete LLC, a veteran-owned self-development company. Chuck previously co-hosted/produced the Pineland Underground Podcast and serves on the Board of Directors for the Dreams 4 All Foundation.

He has been awarded the Silver Star Medal, Bronze Star for Valor, Army Commendation Medal for Valor, three Purple Heart Medals, the Triple E Valor and Courage award, and most importantly, the NDSM and Air Assault Badge.

He is attending Norwich University, completing a B.S. in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis. In 2025, he will apply to the Duke University MBA program.

You can learn more about Chuck here. This is a recent 20-minute documentary on his recovery from combat injuries here.

Havok Journal Articles by Chuck:

I’m Not Good Enough—And That’s OK

Teach a Man to Fish for a Day-Old Salmon

This article goes along with this Objective Arete Podcast episode:

Simplecast Link (Click on image)

Apple iTunes Podcast Link Here.

Spotify Podcast Link Here.

Follow Chuck:

X: https://x.com/Chuck_Ritter92

---