Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within

by David Goggins

Nobody will come save you.

Then, you must become a disciple of discipline.

I was merely existing.

Well, I am proof that rebirth is possible through discipline, which is the only thing capable of altering your DNA.

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

Sgt. Jack was beaming, and it was obvious that he was proud as hell to be my grandfather.

We cannot get time back, so we must be minute hoarders.

When you separate yourself from the pack by cultivating the values and priorities that lead to greatness, mountains of adversity and hardship become speed bumps, and that makes it easier to adapt to the road ahead and build the new life or sense of self you crave.

Those who learn to adapt survive and thrive.

You’ve got to find the lesson in every menial task or low-wage job. That requires humility.

Master Sergeant Crawford was a walking lesson in self-esteem, courage, character, and, especially, humility.

If ten becomes the new normal, then a half or full marathon may be the next step.

A lot of us grow out of life’s shallow end but stay there because we fear the unknown. I’m thinking of those who remain in a secure job they hate instead of cutting ties and starting up their own business or applying for a new position elsewhere.

Better to stay calm, focused on my own effort, and aware that what I’ve gotten myself into is not a game and that there are hungry forces well beyond my control waiting to pounce from behind.

You need to think like a chess master and strategize several moves down the line.

Especially since I was the one at fault.

Once a mistake has been made in the heat of battle, the only thing that matters is dealing with the aftermath with a clear head.

It’s when all your goals and pretty plans burn to ash that you can see your flaws and learn more about yourself.

I knew what to do.

Cultivating a willingness to succeed despite any and all circumstances is the most important variable of the reengagement equation.

Anywhere I lack, I will improve because I exist and I am willing.

The vast majority of them were simply looking for a way out that allowed them to keep their heads up—like me when I quit Pararescue.

Incremental progress is still progress, I said to myself.

Nobody wants to wake up after the race is over wishing they’d been better prepared. If something surprises you in anything you are trying to accomplish these days, with so much free knowledge at our fingertips, it is because you didn’t prepare well enough, and there is no excuse for that.

Truth

Old friends are great and shared history is to be respected, but not every person who has been in your life a long time is looking out for your best interests. Some of them are threatened by your growth because of how it impacts them.

Very true. Some cannot share in the successes of others. Bigger people can respect those on the rise.

At three hundred pounds, I made them feel much better about themselves, which is another way of saying, they were holding me back.

Not all friends and loved ones react that way when you change and become committed to perpetual growth.

It is always better to fight alone until you can find people strong enough to fight the good fight with you.

Whenever something sets me back, I always set a goal, something tangible to shoot for, that keeps me task-oriented and prevents me from being consumed by the sorrow of whatever is going on.

Very few individuals step outside the box and attempt to stretch their limits. They rule out the spectacular by default.

That’s how you stay net positive on the day to day, and when that becomes automatic, it will be so much easier to see any emotional tripwires coming, which will help you strategize around them.

Don’t be shy about digging through your lost archives. No matter how irrelevant those experiences seem now, they count because they were all dry runs for whatever comes next.

We can’t rely on others to get us to where we need to be. We need more personal ownership and self-leadership.

When you deliberately and consistently confront your fear of heights or particular people, places, and situations that unsettle you, those seeds germinate, and your confidence grows exponentially.

I desperately wanted to be somebody because I felt like a nobody.

It was the first time I’d ever seen someone do more than what was required.

It was obvious that his preparedness was several levels above our own.

He was respectful of all the instructors and the school, but he was not there to be led.

He showed us what potent, silent, exemplary leadership looked like.

Being a physical specimen is one thing, but it takes so much more energy to stay mentally prepared enough to arrive every day at a place like Air Assault School on a mission to dominate.

Most of his work was hidden, but it is within that unseen work that self-leaders are made.

Setting an example through action rather than words will always be the most potent form of leadership, and it’s available to all of us.

“I’m not crazy. I’m just not you.”

Dr. Andreas Gomoll was one of the few surgeons in the United States capable of conducting meniscus and cartilage transplants to heal knees so far gone that almost any other orthopedist would consider them candidates for joint replacement.

No matter what you are dealing with, your goal should be to maximize the resources and capabilities you do have.

The people we grow up with and the environments we grow up in define who we think we are and what we think life is all about.

No matter where someone is in life, they never fail to confess why they can’t get where they need to go.

It’s time to level-up and seek out that blue-to-black line. The line that separates good from great. It is within each one of us.

Showing up is an important first step, but if you plan to show up, you may as well show out.

These days, I consider it my business to make everyone better, no matter the job or situation.