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

by David Goggins

Even the best pep talk or self-help hack is nothing but a temporary fix. It won’t rewire your brain. It won’t amplify your voice or uplift your life. Motivation changes exactly nobody. The bad hand that was my life was mine, and mine alone to fix.

Human beings change through study, habit, and stories.

But glossy surfaces reflect much more than they reveal.

Digital devices won’t work. Write all your insecurities, dreams, and goals on Post-Its and tag up your mirror.

It’s okay to be unkind with yourself in these moments because we need thicker skin to improve in life.

post an image of yourself staring into your tagged-up Accountability Mirror on social media with the hashtags #canthurtme #accountabilitymirror.

You could have eaten off that floor. Four years later, the guy who was so energized by opportunity that he was excited to clean latrines was gone and I didn’t feel anything at all.

They say there’s always light at the end of the tunnel, but not once your eyes adjust to the darkness,

I was on that spoon-fed path of least resistance, letting dominoes fall on my head, and it was killing me slowly.

Theoretically, I knew that relaxation was the key to all the underwater evolutions, but I was too terrified to let go.

my unchecked fear was unleashing something I couldn’t control: the quitting mind.

“You know what, Master Sergeant, the doctor doesn’t know much about this Sickle Cell thing, and it’s bothering me.”

It was challenging work with intelligent people, but sadly I was never proud of it and didn’t see the opportunities offered because I knew I was a quitter who had let fear dictate my future.