CAN'T HURT ME by David Goggins | Core Message
Summary
TLDRIn 'Can't Hurt Me,' David Goggins exemplifies extreme grit and mental toughness, achieving incredible physical feats despite immense pain and challenges. The book highlights Goggins' journey, from enduring multiple Navy SEAL Hell Weeks to running 135 miles through Death Valley, all while overcoming a hole in his heart. His core lessons include developing a 'calloused mind,' embracing discomfort, and using the '40% rule'—the idea that when you think you've reached your limit, you're only 40% done. Goggins encourages readers to seek pain and push beyond mental barriers to unlock their full potential.
Takeaways
- 🔥 David Goggins embodies extreme resilience and determination, achieving feats like becoming a Navy SEAL and an ultra-runner despite physical limitations.
- 💪 Goggins developed a 'calloused mind' by pushing through discomfort and pain, which increased his mental toughness and pain tolerance.
- 🏃♂️ He emphasizes the importance of seeking out and embracing discomfort daily to build mental strength and resilience.
- 🤔 Goggins suggests that pain perception is psychological; by confronting pain, one can reduce its impact and increase one's capacity to endure.
- 🚫 His early life was marked by avoidance of pain, leading to a dead-end job and poor health, illustrating the negative consequences of comfort-seeking.
- 🏋️♂️ Goggins lost 100 pounds in three months and qualified for Navy SEAL training, demonstrating the power of facing and overcoming pain.
- 🧠 The '40% rule' posits that when one feels exhausted, they are actually only 40% done, suggesting a large reserve of untapped potential.
- 🏃♂️ In ultra-running, Goggins used past victories as 'cookies' to draw emotional strength and push through pain, a strategy for leveraging past successes.
- 💡 The 'cookie jar' metaphor represents storing positive, challenging experiences to fuel future efforts and overcome obstacles.
- 💥 Goggins advocates for a mindset addicted to hard work, suggesting that passion, obsession, and talent are only useful with a strong work ethic.
Q & A
Who is David Goggins and what is he known for?
-David Goggins is a former Navy SEAL, ultra-runner, and author, known for his incredible feats of endurance and mental toughness. He has completed three Hell Weeks to become a Navy SEAL, finished a 135-mile race at Death Valley, and broke the pull-up world record.
What is the concept of a 'calloused mind' as described by David Goggins?
-A 'calloused mind' refers to a mental state where one has developed a high tolerance for discomfort and pain by consistently challenging oneself with intense physical and intellectual challenges, similar to how calluses on the hands protect from friction and pain.
How did David Goggins push his body to its limits despite having a hole in his heart?
-Despite having a hole in his heart that reduced his aerobic capacity, Goggins pushed his body to its limits by developing a calloused mind, which allowed him to endure pain and discomfort through mental strength and determination.
What is the significance of the '40 percent rule' mentioned in the script?
-The '40 percent rule' is a concept Goggins uses to explain that when one feels completely exhausted and thinks they've reached their limit, they are actually only 40 percent done. It suggests that there is a significant reserve of energy and capability that can be tapped into by ignoring the initial urge to quit.
How does David Goggins define the 'secret of pain'?
-The 'secret of pain' as defined by Goggins is that when you fear the experience of pain, it grows, but when you accept and move towards it, it shrinks. This is a psychological approach to managing discomfort and pain.
What does Goggins suggest doing when faced with unbearable pain or the urge to quit?
-When faced with unbearable pain or the urge to quit, Goggins suggests using the '40 percent rule' and reaching into one's 'mental cookie jar', which contains past experiences of overcoming challenges, to find the motivation and energy to push through.
What is the 'mental cookie jar' and how does it help in overcoming challenges?
-The 'mental cookie jar' is a metaphor for storing memories of past struggles and victories that one can draw upon for motivation and strength during difficult times. It represents personal achievements that can fuel one's determination to push through pain and challenges.
How did David Goggins transform his life from a dead-end job to becoming a Navy SEAL?
-Goggins transformed his life by pursuing pain and taking on challenges that caused him to suffer, such as losing 100 pounds in three months to qualify for Navy SEAL training, which reduced his internal pain and fear of pain, and put him back in control of his life.
What role does discomfort play in developing mental toughness according to the script?
-Discomfort plays a crucial role in developing mental toughness as it is seen as an opportunity to create 'mental friction'. Seeking out and embracing discomfort helps to increase pain tolerance and reduces the fear of discomfort, leading to a calloused mind.
What is the importance of the 'cookie' metaphor in the context of the script?
-The 'cookie' metaphor is used to represent small victories and moments of overcoming challenges, no matter how big or small. These 'cookies' serve as a source of emotional and mental energy that can be used to fuel one's determination during periods of intense pain or struggle.
How does the script suggest one can develop the level of grit exhibited by David Goggins?
-The script suggests developing grit by doing something that causes discomfort every day to build a calloused mind, and when faced with unbearable pain, using the '40 percent rule' and tapping into one's 'mental cookie jar' to find the energy to push through mental barriers.
Outlines
💪 Goggins' Grit and Unbelievable Feats
David Goggins embodies perseverance and mental toughness. He completed three Navy SEAL hell weeks, ran a 135-mile race in Death Valley during summer, and did thousands of push-ups before breakfast while breaking the pull-up world record. All of these achievements were made despite him having an undiagnosed hole in his heart. Goggins credits his success to developing a 'calloused mind,' just like the physical calluses on his hands that protect him during pull-ups. He learned to embrace discomfort and pain, which strengthened his mental resilience.
🥊 The Power of Callusing Your Mind
Goggins explains how developing a calloused mind is similar to toughening your skin against pain. By continuously facing discomfort, you build a mental tolerance to adversity. Just like in boxing, the more you take punches, the less it affects you. He emphasizes the importance of seeking out discomfort daily—whether it’s running in the rain or studying after a long day. This practice allows you to gain mastery over pain and fear, transforming challenges into opportunities for growth. Avoiding pain leads to internal suffering, but embracing it reduces fear and builds strength.
🧠 The Secret of Pain and Goggins' 40% Rule
One of the most profound lessons from Goggins' experiences is the '40% rule,' which states that when your mind tells you to quit, you’ve only tapped into 40% of your potential. Studies support this, showing that athletes still have considerable energy reserves even when they feel completely exhausted. Fatigue is more of a mental barrier than a physical one, and by pushing through, you can access the untapped 60% of your energy. Goggins used this rule to run hundreds of miles, refusing to give in to the deceptive signals of exhaustion his brain sent him.
🍪 Digging into the Mental Cookie Jar
To push through extreme pain, Goggins relies on his 'mental cookie jar'—memories of past challenges and triumphs. When his body was failing during a race, he drew on memories of overcoming past struggles like losing weight or surviving hell week. These 'cookies' helped him tap into hidden reserves of energy and grit. We all have a cookie jar filled with victories, whether big or small, that can fuel us through pain. The key is to remember these moments and use them to shift your mindset when faced with tough situations, allowing you to keep going.
🔥 The Pursuit of Discomfort and Mental Mastery
Goggins encourages seeking discomfort daily to build grit and mental toughness. By doing something difficult every day, you can harden your mind against challenges. When pain becomes unbearable, remember the 40% rule and dip into your cookie jar for extra energy. Goggins’ ultimate message is that mastering your mind requires hard work, far beyond passion or talent. If you want to achieve exceptional results, you must become addicted to effort and pushing past your limits. This book, *Can't Hurt Me*, is a powerful reminder of the human potential to endure and grow.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Grit
💡Calloused mind
💡40% rule
💡Mental cookie jar
💡Discomfort
💡Pain
💡Overprotective brain
💡Sympathetic nervous system
💡Endurance
💡Fear of discomfort
Highlights
David Goggins went through three Hell Weeks to become a Navy SEAL, showcasing his determination and resilience.
He became an ultra runner, completing a 135-mile race in Death Valley during summer, enduring extreme physical conditions.
Goggins performed a thousand push-ups before breakfast regularly, emphasizing his dedication to physical fitness.
He set a world record by doing 4,030 pull-ups in 17 hours, demonstrating his incredible endurance.
Despite achieving these feats, Goggins had a hole in his heart that reduced his aerobic capacity, but he continued pushing his limits.
He developed a 'calloused mind' by facing discomfort head-on, similar to how calluses on hands build from physical friction.
By seeking out intense physical and intellectual challenges, Goggins increased his tolerance for pain and discomfort.
He weighed 290 pounds and was stuck in a dead-end job before he started taking on life challenges like Navy SEAL training.
Goggins lost 100 pounds in three months to qualify for Navy SEAL training, showing his commitment to transforming his life.
He teaches that confronting pain makes it shrink, while avoiding it allows it to grow larger in one's mind.
The '40 percent rule' suggests that when you feel exhausted, you're only 40 percent done and have untapped reserves of energy.
Scientists support the 40 percent rule, showing that fatigue is often more psychological than physical.
Goggins uses his 'mental cookie jar' to draw strength from past accomplishments to push through extreme challenges.
During a 100-mile race, he reached into his cookie jar of past victories, like overcoming a learning disability and dropping weight for SEAL training, to push through intense pain.
To build mental grit, Goggins advocates doing something uncomfortable every day, embracing pain to grow stronger.
Transcripts
I recently read can't hurt me by author
David Goggins David Goggins is the
personification of grit not only did he
go through three hell weeks to become a
Navy SEAL he became an ultra runner and
finished a hundred and thirty-five mile
race at Death Valley in the middle of
summer not only did he push his body to
run 135 miles for 32 hours he routinely
did a thousand push-ups before breakfast
on route to breaking the pull-up world
record by doing four thousand and thirty
pull-ups in 17 hours and accomplished
all these amazing feats of endurance
without realizing he had a hole in his
heart that reduced his aerobic capacity
how did he do it
well Goggins will tell you he did it by
developing a calloused mind when Goggins
was training to break the pull-up world
record he created so much friction
between his hands and the pull-up bar
that his palms built up thick calluses
these calluses protected his palm is by
hardening the skin and blunting the pain
the same principle applies to your mind
when you create mental friction by going
against your minds constant need for
comfort and thrust yourself into intense
physical and intellectual challenges you
gradually callus over your fear of
discomfort and increase your pain
tolerance in a way life is like boxing
the first time you get punched in the
chin it hurts like hell but if you keep
putting yourself in the ring after a few
years you'll have developed the mental
tolerance to absorb a hundred punches
from stronger opponents Goggins says
after you calloused your mind you
learned that you can take a hell a lot
more than one punch to start callus in
your mind you need to start craving
discomfort every day look for
opportunities to make yourself
uncomfortable if it starts raining
outside go for a run if you've had a
long day at work go to the gym and do
the hardest workout you've done all
month if you don't feel like studying
lock yourself in a quiet room and don't
leave that room until you've written ten
pages of notes by craving discomfort and
seeking out painful but rewarding
experiences you're not trying to be a
masochist you're simply trying
master your fear of pain when Goggins
was in his early 20s his fear of pain
and pursuit of comfort led him to a
dead-end job sprang cockroaches and
rewarding himself with large chocolate
shakes in a box of hostess mini donuts
after every shift soon he weighed 290
pounds and felt too ashamed to look at
himself in the mirror by avoiding pain
his internal pain grew and grew
paradoxically when Goggins started
pursuing pain by taking on challenges
that would cause him to suffer like
losing a hundred pounds in three months
to qualify for Navy SEAL training he
reduced his internal pain and his fear
of pain and put himself back in the
driver's seat of his life when you see
got painful but rewarding experiences
it's helpful to remember the secret of
pain a secret that most people never
realize or simply forget the secret of
pain is that when you fear the
experience of pain it grows but when you
accept pain and move towards it it
shrinks as psychologist Phil Stutz and
Barry Michaels say in their book the
tools your experience of pain changes
relative to how you react to it
if you flee from it pain pursues you
like a monster in a dream if you
confront the monster it goes away if you
get in the habit of walking towards pain
you'll gradually callus your mind and
blunt your fear of discomfort but
regardless of how much you callus your
mind you're bound to experience moments
when pain seems unbearable and you think
you've reached your absolute limit you
might get this feeling after weeks of
working on a project for 12 hours a day
or at Mile 15 of a marathon in these
moments Duggan says it's critical to
remember the 40 percent rule and use
your cookie jar when Goggins would get
to the hundred mile mark in a 200-mile
race and feel completely exhausted he'd
remember the 40 percent rule and know
that he had the capacity to run another
hundred miles if he simply stopped
listening to the excuses his mind was
feeding him the 40 percent rule states
that when your mind first tells you
you're done you're only 40 percent done
if you look deep within yourself you'll
find that you haven't even tapped into
half of what you're capable of as crazy
as the forty percent rule sounds
scientists can actually back it up a
professor of exercise and sports science
at the universe
Capetown Timothy Noakes studied athletes
in his physiology lab and found that
when athletes claimed they had nothing
left to give and reach the point of
complete physical exhaustion muscle
tests revealed that their muscles had
the capacity to do significantly more
work it turned out that the urge to quit
wasn't due to muscle failure it was due
to an overprotective brain telling the
body to stop Noakes says fatigue should
no longer be considered a physical event
but rather a sensation or a motion so
the next time you feel completely
exhausted and your brain is convincing
you to quit remember that the first sign
of exhaustion is usually a false one
know that you have a large reserve of
energy that you haven't tapped into yet
dig deep find your 60% reserve and tap
into it 5% at a time when you're doing
push-ups and your brain starts
complaining
remember the 40% rule and squeeze out
one more set than another then another
then another when you think you're
completely exhausted after a long day of
work and don't have the energy to play
with your kids or work on your side
hustle
remember the 40% rule and tap into your
reserve tank oftentimes the best way to
tap into your reserve tank is to grab a
cookie out of your mantle cookie jar
when Goggins started ultrarunning he
started with a 24-hour race around a
one-mile track with zero training
googans also weighed 260 pounds which is
massive for any long-distance runner
let alone someone trying to complete a
hundred mile race in 24 hours when
Goggins reached the 70 mile mark his
kidneys started failing he had broken
all the small bones in his feet and he
lost every one of his toenails the pain
was unbearable at that moment he had to
dig deep to finish the race so he
reached into his mental cookie jar and
pulled out a cookie from his past he
recalled the time that he had to study
three times as hard to overcome a
learning disability and graduate from
high school he recalled the time he had
to drop a hundred pounds in three months
to qualify from Navy SEAL training and
he recalled the time he got through hell
week on two broken legs he says these
weren't mere flashbacks I wasn't just
floating through my memory files I
actually tapped into the emotional state
I felt during those victories and in
doing so I accessed my sympathetic
nervous system
my adrenaline took over the pain started
to fade just enough and my pace picked
up I began swinging my arms and
lengthening my stride I moved through
the pain and ran a hundred and one miles
we all have a mental cookie jar stocked
with cookies that will fuel us drink
periods of intense pain each cookie
represents a time in our life when we
faced intense struggle overcame the odds
and tasted success maybe it was
overcoming a speech impediment or
getting through college or dropping a
bad habit like smoking now a cookie
doesn't need to be large if you turned
off your phone this morning to study for
an exam for 30 minutes that's a cookie
if you did the dishes even though you
didn't feel like it that's a cookie as
Goggins made his way around the one-mile
track every step was a cookie in each
lap was a slightly bigger cookie filled
with chocolate chunks that fueled him to
the hunter mile mark Goggin says
remembering that you'd been through
difficulties before and I've always
survived to fight again shifts the
conversation in your head it allows you
to control and manage doubt and keep you
focused on taking each and every step
necessary to achieve the task at hand
just remember when the pain hits and
tries to stop you short of your goal
dump your fist in pull out a cookie and
let it fuel you so if you want to find
David Goggins level grit start by doing
something that sucks
every day to Cal us over your fear of
discomfort when the pain becomes
unbearable and you encounter your first
urge to quit remember the 40% rule and
dip into your cookie jar to find the
energy you need to push on and push
through your mental barriers as Goggin
says if you want to master your mind
you'll have to become addicted to hard
work because passion and obsession even
talent are only useful tools if you have
the work ethic to back them up that was
the core message that I gathered from
can't hurt me by David Goggins this is a
captivating book and probably the most
inspiring book I've read in months
I highly recommend it if you would like
a one-page PDF summary of insights that
I gathered from this book just click the
link below and I'd be happy to email it
to you if you already subscribe to the
free productivity game email newsletter
this PDF is sitting in your inbox if you
like this video please share it and as
always thanks for watching
and
yourself a productive week
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