Suffering Is The Secret to Success- 10 Challenges by David Goggins “Can’t Hurt Me”

Posted by Austin Serra / February 17, 2023

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A warrior understands how to effectively utilize the most powerful weapon in their arsenal. David Goggins has found how to properly tame the mind and it’s unexplainable capabilities. David Goggins is indisputably one of the toughest men in the world. One of my favorite quotes by David Goggins is, “Pain unlocks a secrete doorway in the mind, one that leads to both Peak Performance and a Beautiful silence.” This quote best resonates with me, when I’m in situations that create friction. After listening to this audible- I have a new understanding of how much the body can suffer before it breaks. The average human being will only push themselves to 40% of what the mind and body are capable. The next time you think you can’t push any further, remind yourself you still have 60% of uncapped potential. David Goggins provides you with 10 challenges in this read. It is up to me to practice each of these challenges and incorporate them into my everyday life.

Challenge #1 – Truth Hurts

Truth has a way of offending. Sometimes it makes you want to run and hide from the problem. David Goggins teaches you to face your demons, to look it in the eye, and see past the circumstance. Instead of taking offense to truth use it to self-analyze; by holding yourself accountable you release the need to create excuses. Take accountability and push yourself to the brink edge each day. Truth has the capability to pivot your life in a better direction. I have set spiritual, financial, and physical goals and by applying “Truth” as the weapon in my arsenal, I can provide structure to the foundation of my life and the goals I have set.

Challenge #2 – The Impossible task

Doing the unimaginable always seems impossible to achieve, until you actually achieve it. Successes in life will always push you to grow and allow you to reach new levels of success. David Goggins shows this by his experiences and how those experiences led him to growth. When you fail at a task, it doesn’t need to be considered a setback. Instead, use that failure as an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and set new goals with a new perspective. When you set an impossible task for yourself, you must carry a relentless attitude. Always visualize the task being completed and increase your efforts each day.

   

Challenge #3 – Taking Souls

Soul snatching is a powerful tool. This is having an outlook of domination towards your competitors. It takes preparation mentally and physically. The mentality part of it requires you to analyze the competition and find weakness in their craft. The physical part of it requires you to be able to outwork everyone by preparation and strong will. Both of these combined will baffle the competition and keep them from performing at their peak level.

Challenge #4 – Armored Mind

Use life’s experiences to callus the mind. Currently, I am dealing with a torn ACL and torn meniscus in my right knee. It would be too easy to play the victim card and find all the negative things in my life, but that’s wasting an opportunity for growth. David Goggins quotes, “The only thing more contagious than a good attitude is a bad one.” For this reason, I am going to carry myself with a good attitude and use this situation as an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive. I will be receiving knee surgery in a few weeks and I will use this downtime to armor my mind in areas that I am weak. I will set goals for potential ideas that will help generate income. I will also come back stronger than before my injury and be in the best shape ever.

   

Challenge #5 – It’s Not About A Trophy

A trophy is short-lived. A successful athlete is never focused on a trophy, but instead is focused on living in the moment. Success is a process that has no end. Successful people are continually striving for more. This challenge gives you the opportunity to allocate all of your successes and put them into a cookie jar for future use.

Challenge #6- The Most Powerful Weapon

Each one of us is filled with constraint and doubt at a young age. This is called a “Governor”, which limits you from reaching your full potential. A governor is a device on a vehicle that regulates the output of an engine, and in turn restricts it from reaching peak performance. When you push past your limitations, you set a new level on your foundation. Giving you the ability to push 5% or 10% harder the next time. So shut off the governor in your mind and chase suffering like it’s a trophy that will enable you to reach new highs!

   

Challenge #7 – Talent Not Required

Discipline will surpass talent in any sport. Some of the most talented athletes never gain the amount of success, as someone who is exceptionally disciplined in their craft. When you want it bad enough, you will do whatever it takes to achieve the impossible. This challenge pushes you to compartmentalize your day and setting backstops in case you get off track.

Challenge #8 – Uncommon Against Uncommon

The alpha in a room always stands out. So if you truly want to be “uncommon among the uncommon” you must sustain greatness for a long period of time. This means always reaching for new levels of success and setting goals which enables you to live an uncomfortable life.

Challenge #9 – The Empowerment of Failure

Failure is the gateway to success! When you are able to fully conceptualize the meaning of failure in your life, then you will give yourself a true opportunity for growth. Failure brings you one step closer to reaching a certain goal and when you can self analyze your failures, then you are giving yourself a second chance. An (after action report) AAR gives you the ability to dissect your failure and opens your eyes to seeing the opportunity for success in that failure.

   

Challenge #10 – What if?

Those two words give you the power to visualize a certain outcome. What if? This is a very compelling thought, and David Goggins shows that this “what if” technique can push you to doing things you could never imagine yourself doing.

David Goggins has giving me a new perspective in life. When you choose not to live in complacency, you alleviate the restrictions over your life. I will find ways to live out of my comfort zone. Each day I will find ways to incorporate some level of suffering to my physical, mental, and spiritual state. This will unlock my inner warrior. To always strive to achieve greatness!