“Don’t stop when you’re tired. Stop when the job is done.”
Some thoughts and ideas get you fired up. They capture your heart and mind in a new and different way. They fill your sails and make you believe you can do anything. In short, they give you motivation.
I’m not talking about the silly motivation people post about on social media, but a different and more valuable type. The type of motivation that creates deep-seated and lasting change. The kind that doesn’t create a burst of energy that soon fades, but that generates action day after day. This motivation isn’t about getting you hyped up, or emotional. It’s about shifting how you see and respond to the world. It’s about changing how you think.
This is the style of motivation found within the pages of Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins. Can’t Hurt Me is more than the tale of David’s life and how he went from abused, weak, and failing; to Navy Seal. His story is one of not just overcoming obstacles, but destroying them. Page after page unfolds his inspiring life one event and challenge at a time. With each, it becomes clear that it is ultimately a story of the mind.
His book is a reminder that “not all physical and mental limitations are real.” Most of the things holding you back are self-inflicted.
David’s book and life prove that if your thinking, you will do what you once thought impossible. The path to mental strength is fraught with difficulty and hardship.
“Everything in life is a mind game.”
The obstacles only appear as physical. They are and remain obstacles of the mind. Your body responds to what your mind tells it. If you push past the pain and keep going when your body screams for you to stop, you will find that you are capable of way more than you thought. “The hard part,” David said, “is getting to that point because the ticket to victory often comes down to bringing your very best when you feel your worst.”
That lesson holds broad application to life across the board. It is something you have to learn if you want to accomplish anything, let alone sleep well at night. You have to bring it in all circumstances and at all times. You can’t only bring it when conditions are perfect. You must dig deep and do your best regardless of how you feel.
That is why physical training is of such value. It is the arena in which you develop the mental toughness life demands. It helps you become the person you need/want to be. It teaches you how to go to the dark place, block out distractions, and get after it.
Mental toughness leads you to one question: what am I capable of? It is in answering this question that you discover who you are. “We,” David said, “habitually settle for less.” What a shame it is to walk through life and never discover exactly what your best is. You will never get there without developing your mind into a razor-sharp weapon. A weapon you use to destroy doubt and do great things.
“How do you push yourself when pain is all you feel?” –David Goggins
Answering that question is different for everyone, but it’s the one question you’ll come face to face with on your journey. “Sadly,” David said, “most of us give up when we’ve only given around 40 percent of our maximum effort.” The only way you will ever push beyond this point and discover what you’re truly capable of is to “chase the pain.” Embrace suffering. Seek it out every day.
It turns out that the things you think prevent you from reaching for gold, turn out to be the very things helping you get there down the road.