Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within

by David Goggins

Life is the mountain we are all climbing, but hope is not an anchor point.

It comes from working your way through layers of pain, fatigue, and reason, and ignoring the ever-present temptation to quit until you strike a source of fuel you didn’t even know existed.

eventually, you will prevail, so long as you keep moving forward.

nobody else can give it to you.

It’s about constant effort, learning, and adaptation, which demands unwavering discipline and belief.

How long will you allow your past to hold you back before you finally take control of your future?

Content to be the motherfucker who sharpens his sword alone.

weakness and laziness are rooted in hate and anger, and until we receive the confession, apology, or compensation we believe we are owed, we stay stuck in our shit as a form of self-righteous rebellion against our tormentors or even against life itself.

You cannot be afraid to disappoint people. You have to live the life you want to live.

the poison will be neutralized, and the power will be yours.

The way we speak to ourselves in moments of doubt is crucial, whether or not the stakes are high.

your words will make sure that your approach does change, and that will eventually enable you to shift everything. But you must speak the truth and be willing to listen to it. Don’t be afraid of your weakness or doubt. Don’t be embarrassed and pretend it doesn’t exist. It surfaced for a reason, so use it to flip the dynamic of your life.

Winners in life see everything they experience and everything they hear, see, and feel as pure energy.

Mental toughness and resilience fade if they aren’t used consistently.

I focus on my stride, remain conscious of where and how my feet strike the ground and on my head and shoulder position. I visualize myself running with a tray of full water glasses on my head. I don’t want any sway or bounce at all. I remain still yet relaxed and let my core and legs carry me forward.

stay in the fight.

It helps to remind yourself of what you’re good at and where you excel so when you have to engage in something that is hard for you, it doesn’t become overwhelming. Tell yourself, I’m good here. I’m great there. This sucks, but it will be over in twenty minutes.

Quitting on a dream stays with you. It can color how you see yourself and the decisions you make going forward.

Respect is earned every day by waking up early, challenging yourself with new dreams or digging up old nightmares, and embracing the suck like you have nothing and have never done a damn thing in your life.

A prepared mind craves the worst conditions because it knows that pressure brings out its best and exposes almost everyone else.

those who tend to crane their necks looking for the crest of the mountain as they beg for their suffering to end are the ones who get smashed the most by any false summit.

When the distance is unknown, it is even more critical that you stay locked in so the unknown factor doesn’t steal your focus.

anticipation

will only distract you from completin...

front of you to the best of y...

the struggle is the whol...

There is great beauty when you are involved in something that is so hard most people want it to end.

Why hope it will end soon when you know it will end eventually?

who used to look for exits because he was blind to his own possibilities.

We all have the ability to be extraordinary, but most of us—and especially the haunted ones—tap out of the crucible and never experience what it’s like to get to the other side of hell.

Your strongest moments will often make you think of your weakest.

I no longer wondered if I’d finish. The question now became, where would that finish line lead me?

that dog—inside

There are no days off, and there is no downtime when you are obsessed with being great. That is what it takes to be the baddest motherfucker ever at what you do.

The irony is you build those walls to protect yourself. You think they will make you hard and less vulnerable, but they isolate you in solitary confinement with your darkest thoughts and ugliest memories.

when your self-worth goes away and you don’t deal with or accept your demons, they will continue to own you, and you will become a bottom feeder.

destruction always breeds creation.

until you start feeling a sense of pride and self-respect in the work you do, no matter how small or overlooked those jobs might be, you will continue to half-ass your life.

rebirth is possible through discipline,

those were the very things that turned me into someone I could be proud of.

It will always be up to you to find the lesson in every shitty situation and use it to become stronger, wiser, and better.

never treat yourself as a victim.

Those who learn to adapt survive and thrive.

Humility is the antidote to self-pity. It keeps you rooted in reality and your emotions in check.

Humility hardens your spine and encourages you to stand tall, secure in yourself no matter what anyone else thinks.

It was never about him, and that gave him strength.

when you are humble enough to remember that you’ll never know it all, each lesson you learn only makes you hungrier to learn more, and that will put you on a path that guarantees you will grow all the way to the grave.

there was no fear there.

You need to evaluate what you are feeling. Not every emotion deserves to be ratified. Remember, if you stay where you’ve always been, you will never learn if you have what it takes to venture into the deep water.

there were no tricks around fear. The only way to neutralize it was to commit to doing the fucking thing that freaked me out and then proceed to outsmart my fear through knowledge and preparation.