Subtitle:Comfortas a Barrier
Introduction
Postedon August 10th, 2023
ByOlivia Baker
We've all heard the cliché about the importance ofgetting comfortable with being uncomfortable in pursuit of the goals we have. DavidGoggins takes this attitude to the extreme. In his mind, comfort is a barrierto reaching our full potential in life. Not only must we live with discomfort,but we must seek it out and embrace it to cultivate the mental toughness necessaryto operate at 100% of our true capability. "So I sought out pain, fell in love withsuffering, and eventually transformed myself from the weakest piece of s*** onthe planet into the hardest man God ever created, or so I tell myself." Gogginswrites in the introduction. If there are many ways to get past a barrier inlife, some are climbing over it, some are running around it, some might evenask a friend for a lift, but Goggins is smashing his head against it until hebreaks through it by brute force (and telling you he's better for it on theother side). Sound intense? It is certainly an approach that is not for thefaint of heart.
Nonetheless, I chose Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins for the 18th installmentof Runners Who Read because the proof is in the proverbial pudding. Thisapproach to life definitely challenges my personal viewpoint, but I'minterested to hear what Goggins has to say because it has clearly worked forhim—he's the only man in history to complete the grueling elite training as aNavy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller—and his story hasinspired millions of others (over 5 million copies sold to date). While few maybe willing to fully accept the mission he sets forth in the opening pages ofthis book, many of us can learn life-changing lessons from his story ofincredible strength born of weakness and the steps he took to get him there.
DiscussionQuestions:
1. Whatare you looking forward to most about reading this book?
2. Whatcurrent comforts do you feel may double as barriers to achieving a goal you'veset?
Subtitle:TheAccountability Mirror (mini-blog #1)
Chapters 1-4
Postedon August 18th, 2023
ByOlivia Baker
A mirror is simply defined as "a reflective surface,now typically of glass coated with a metal amalgam, that reflects a clear image"(Oxford English Dictionary). When we look at ourselves in a mirror, we see ourreflection with no filters. No matter how we see ourselves in our minds eye or craftour image to appear on social media, our appearance is laid completely barewhen we look in a mirror. This is why mirrors are a great place to startdeveloping accountability as David Goggins discovers in his late teen yearsduring the opening chapters of Can't HurtMe.
It was only once he started taking the time to sitwith his reflection in the mirror that he was able to clearly address who hewas—a physically unhealthy, emotionally depressed, and mentally undisciplined juniorin high school on the verge of flunking out—and decide how he was going to get tohis goal—entering the United States Air Force. He started putting post-it noteson that bathroom mirror at home that said things like "Make your bed like you'rein the military every day!", "Pull up your pants!", and "Shave your head everymorning!" to hold himself accountable. The smaller notes turned into biggerones regarding physical fitness and study habits. Eventually, having thesenotes on the mirror forced him to have to face himself honestly when he wasn'treaching his daily goals, but also literally see his daily transformation fromwho he was into who he hoped to become.
However, the accountability mirror, as Goggins calledit, only works if we can set aside the images we hold of ourselves and behonest about what we're seeing. "…change doesn't come easy, and the reason thisritual worked so well for me was because of the tone. I wasn't fluffy. I wasraw because that was the only way to get myself right," (pg# 55). So, this weeklet's all spend less time looking down at our phones, crafting an image of ourlives through social media, and look up into the mirrors that show us who wetruly are so we can work towards crafting ourselves into what we want tobecome.
DiscussionQuestions:
1. Whatsticky notes are or would be on your accountability mirror?
2. When Gogginseventually does make it into the military, he not only had a physical accountabilitymirror, but he found other mirrors that revealed aspects of his character inthe form of water confidence training that showed him that he wasn't as toughon the inside as he thought he was, and the is first Navy Seals recruiter whoforced him to come to terms with just how far he'd need to go from a physicalfitness perspective to become a Seal. What people, places, and/or tasks act asmirrors that give you a clear reflection of some aspect of your character?
Subtitle:TheCookie Jar Concept (mini-blog #2)
Chapters 5-8
Postedon August 24th, 2023
ByOlivia Baker
What memories do you look for inspiration to dig deepin the most challenging moments of a race? For me, I often think back topractice. When it's 100+ degrees on the track for the USATF Outdoor Track andField Championships 800m final and my body is working overtime to both keep mecool and flush lactic acid in the final phases of the race, I remember modelingthis very situation with a 4x400m workout in the 100 degree heat and humidityof an Atlanta summer. Overheating and lactic-filled, I closed that last 400m in56, and at least it was drier in Oregon. When it's 35 degrees and my bonesshiver as I race down the track in the biting chill of a Massachusetts Marchjust a few weeks after the groundhog has seen its shadow, I hearken back to a5x1k workout I completed over Thanksgiving break in New Jersey not too longbefore. It was so cold that day that the usually bustling community track wasempty save for me and my mom who was holding the stopwatch for me. With eachsuccessive rep, my pace quickened and my body temperature dropped. Rarely haveI ever felt as cold as I did during the 30 minutes of that workout, but I gotit done. Surely I could handle this cold through the end of this race. Thehardest practices are always harder than even the toughest races by design. Thisis why practice is such a good thing to look back upon when the going getstough, but it's not the only thing you can look back on, rather just a few ofmany cookies in the cookie jar.
As Goggins explains throughout the middle chapters of Can't Hurt Me, every obstacle that we haveovercome, small victory we've experienced, and any odds we've beaten representcookies in the jar that we collect and can then draw upon for energy tocomplete future difficult tasks. Initially a reminder of the joy and gratitudehe felt when getting to take a cookie out of the jar his mother managed to alwayskeep stocked despite struggling to make ends meet, Goggins created an internalcookie jar stocked with moments of triumph to remind himself of those feelingswhen the going gets tough. Times like when he entered a 24 hour race with not alick of training and needed to complete at least 100 miles to qualify forfuture races. At mile 70 when he had fallen off pace, fractured both his feet,became severely dehydrated, and experienced the beginning phases of kidneyfailure, he reached into the cookie jar and remembered completing BUD/S NavySEAL training, particularly Hell Week in which he pushed through bacterial pneumonia,two fractured shins, and 130 hours of training on less than 4 hours of sleep. "Iactually tapped into the emotional state I felt during those victories, and inso doing accessed my sympathetic nervous system once again. My adrenaline tookover, the pain started to fade just enough, and my pace picked up," he writeson page 167. Remembering what we've been through can fuel us through ourcurrent struggles and that extends beyond physical challenges to mental andemotional as well. So this week, let's all spend some time reflecting on thevariety of cookies in our jars from past successes and then use them to fuelthe future ones.
DiscussionQuestions:
1. Whatare some of the experiences in your Cookie Jar that you draw upon during your toughest challenges?
2. Thisweek's quote comes from chapter 7 explaining Goggins' 40% rule. "Sadly, most ofus give up when we've only given around 40 percent of our maximum effort. Evenwhen we feel like we've reached the limit, we still have 60 percent more togive! That's the governor in action! Once you know that to be true, it's simplya matter of stretching your pain tolerance, letting go of your identity and allof your self-limiting stories, so you can get to 60 percent, then 80 percentand beyond without giving up. I call this the 40% Rule…" (pg# 187). Do youagree with David Goggins that most of us are only tapping into 40% of our truepotential? Why or why not?
Subtitle:The After Action Report (mini-blog #3)
Chapters 9-11
Postedon August 31st, 2023
ByOlivia Baker
"Inlife, there is no gift as overlooked or inevitable as failure." -David Goggins, pg# 286
In the final chapters of Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins, we learn that even the "hardest manthat God ever created" is, in fact, human after all and capable of reachingphysical limits. Despite having willed his way through BUD/S training on twofractured feet, conquered Army Ranger training as a Navy SEAL, and covered 100miles in 24 hours without an ounce of cardio training by sheer mental fortitude,not every task that he simply set his mind to was he able to accomplish. Heapplied 9 times, was screened twice, and failed both screenings to join DEVGRU(the top Navy SEALS force). He also failed twice by hundreds of pull-ups beforesucceeding at breaking the 24-hour pull-up World Record. Whether he eventuallysucceeded at his task or not, the way that Goggins handled these failures showsthat they can still be used as stepping stones to success because in the waragainst yourself, failure callouses your mind in a different way fromsucceeding at these physical challenges. It makes you smarter.
One of the things that is standard protocol in theAmerican military is the After Action Report (AAR). After every real world missionor field exercise an AAR serves as an accounting of the things that went rightand wrong, and analysis of what could be improved regardless of the outcome ofthe mission. Goggins takes this concept into the civilian world, puttingtogether a written AAR after every attempt he makes in pursuit of a goal,determined to learn from each effort. Not only do his AARs better prepare himfor a future attempt at a particular challenge, but they reveal lessons thatcan be applied to a plethora of potential trials that may come and they can dothe same for us. Failing at reaching the 24-hour pull-up world record taughthim practical tips like how to best protect his hands, pace himself, and fuelduring future attempts, but also allowed him to learn the greater life lessonof how to bounce back from public failures, unshaken by the haters.
In the end, when you go to war with yourself in thegame that is life in this ever-hardening world, the physical limit is almostarbitrary, the ultimate goal is a mind calloused to whatever may be thrown yourway. As Goggins says "Life will always be the most grueling endurance sport,and when you train hard, get uncomfortable, and callous your mind, you willbecome a more versatile competitor, trained to find a way forward no matterwhat," (pg# 227). So this week, let's find a moment to look back and take anhonest AAR of our recent efforts, and then use them to better prepare us forwhat difficulties may be ahead.
DiscussionQuestion:
1. Takean honest After Action Report of a recent life event. What lessons can you takethat will make you a more "versatile competitor" at life?
2. Thisbook is filled with so many great quotes and nuggets of advice. Rather thanhighlighting one here, for this week, the space if open for you to drop yourfavorite quotes. If you had to choose one or two quotes from this book to keepwith you as mantras to remind yourself, which ones would you choose and why?
