Book review #1: Can’t hurt me by David Goggins

First time I came across Goggins on Youtube. He was a host on Joe Rogan Experience podcast. I have to say, that some of his stories sounds surreal: running 100 miles without further experience of running a marathon, doing 4025 pull ups in 17 hours (Guinness World Record), or doing some more “common” thing like becoming a US Navy SEAL.

When I spot his book called Can’t hurt me in recommendations section in my Audible account, I did not think twice. I highly recommend you to read it. It is the basically the story of how one of the toughest mind on this planet came into being. Do you want to build mental toughness? This book is a “must read”. Anyway, here are some interesting lessons from the book.

Lesson 1: Finding your identity.

When Goggins was on a 24-hour race covering 100 miles, he said it was the highest level of pain he had ever gone through in his life. Many times during the race he asked him self: “Why are you doing this to yourself, Goggins?”

What he came up with was a very powerful answer: “Because you are one hard motherfucker.”

That is his identity, and throughout the book it’s what he talks about. He does everything in alignment with that identity.

Identity is the greatest driving force in human nature. — Tony Robbins
Similarly, in the book Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger says in order to be able to do whatever you want to do in life, first you have to decide who you want to become. Then decide what you need to do in order to become that person.

So it’s not about starting with what you want to have. You have to start by identifying who you want to be, and that is the most powerful force in human nature, as Tony Robbins says. Eventually you will have what you want to have.

Lesson 2: 40% rule.

Goggins claims, that we all do have a “governor” in our head. It is basically the voice, which says that you have enough, or that you cannot do another push-up or sit-up or you should not work that hard. In some sense, this voice is trying to protect you from the pain which you might feel during the formerly listed activities.

According Goggins, when this voice arise, you roughly pass 40% of your true capabilities (hence the name 40% rule).

You probably experienced this before. Did you ever work out and suddenly your favourite song started to play? Have you done more reps than set before?

Goggis is not saying that we should always aim for 100% of our capabilities. In fact, you can injure yourself badly if you do this without any training. But, we should bear in mind that there is still plenty of power which can be accessed within us, when your “governor” is screaming: “STOP, NO MORE!”

Lesson 3: Taking souls.

Goggins went through hell week (toughest training of US military, which you have to complete in order to become a SEAL). During the hell week, instructors try to beat down and break trainees so only best of the best make it through. Goggins employed the tactic of “taking souls” where he would literally try to destroy the souls of instructors. He knew, that all those instructors already completed hell week and they did not enjoy the single moment of this torture. So, he motivated his crew to smash the training as if they were enjoying it. They were shouting on instructors: “You can’t break the boat crew 2!” sending the message that there is no point on making things harder, because they are bringing the fight.

Goggis knew that those instructors were suffering in their hell week. The fact that they pass it is one of their main accomplishments in their life. It is probably the reason why they are so tough and self-confident. Showing them you can go through that hell with the smile on your face? You literally take the soul of that instructor.

Lesson 4: Callous your mind.

Human beings have a tendency to choose the path of least resistance. We shy away from the pain and suffering. By choosing the way, where you face suffering you are callousing your mind. You are building mental toughness. When you go through something really painful, you know for the rest of your life what are you capable of. After that, there is much less things which has the power to harm you.

This is similar to view of Jordan B. Peterson. You should be the most reliable person on your fathers funeral. Bad things happen in life. You better be prepared when it comes to face them.

So, what do you thing? Would this book be a great read for you? Let me know in comments!

Thanks for reading!