Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds

by David Goggins

SITUATION: You are in danger of living a life so comfortable and soft that you will die without ever realizing your true potential.

MISSION: To unshackle your mind. Ditch the victim’s mentality forever.

Don’t stop when you are tired. Stop when you are done.

Human beings change through study, habit, and stories.

During my senior year in high school, studying and working out gave my mind so much energy that hate flaked from my soul like used-up snakeskin.

But when you have no confidence it becomes easy to value other people’s opinions, and I was valuing everyone’s opinion without considering the minds that generated them.

As soon as I made that connection, being upset with them was not worth my time. Because if I was gonna kick their ass in life, and I was, I had way too much shit to do.

The more often you get uncomfortable the stronger you’ll become, and soon you’ll develop a more productive, can-do dialogue with yourself in stressful situations.

all bad things end.

people who are secure with themselves don’t bully other people. They look out for other people,

the ticket to victory often comes down to bringing your very best when you feel your worst.

There

is no shame in getting knocked out. The shame comes when you throw in the motherfucking towel,

The engine in a rocket ship does not fire without a small spark first. We all need small sparks, small accomplishments in our lives to fuel the big ones.

I knew then that I’d been selling myself short. That there was a whole new level of performance out there to tap into. That the human body can withstand and accomplish a hell of a lot more than most of us think possible, and that it all begins and ends in the mind.

You will be made fun of. You will feel insecure. You may not be the best all the time. You may be the only black, white, Asian, Latino, female, male, gay, lesbian or [fill in your identity here] in a given situation. There will be times when you feel alone. Get over it!

When you find yourself having frivolous conversations or becoming ensnared in activities that don’t better you in any way, move the fuck on!

We’re either getting better or we’re getting worse.

Instead of getting angry that your colleagues can’t keep up, help pick your colleagues up and bring them with you!

But it’s not the external voice that will break you down. It’s what you tell yourself that matters. The most important conversations you’ll ever have are the ones you’ll have with yourself.