CONTROL YOURSELF to Transform Your Reality – The Power of Mental Strength (David Goggins)
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We live in a world that we want to be as comfortable as we can. And we wonder why we have no growth. We wonder why when the smallest thing in our life gets difficult, we wonder why we cower and we run away. I mean, our whole life is set that way. Our whole life is set up in the path of least resistance.

We don't want to suffer. We don't want to feel discomfort. So the whole time we're living our lives in a very comfortable area. There's no growth in that. So for me, I realized that the reason I became 297 pounds is because that was comfortable. What was very uncomfortable was running. What was very uncomfortable was being on a diet. What was very uncomfortable was trying to face things that I didn't want to face.

And I also realized when I was really big, I had no growth. Why? Because I was living comfortable. So I realized for me to find growth, I had to face all of these different things that made me very, very uncomfortable. One thing I faced was running. Absolutely hated running. But I knew for me to grow,

I had to do this thing every single day. I wanted to start callousing my mind. I wanted to start becoming a better person. And how you become a better person, how you gain mental toughness, how you become the person you want to be is constantly facing the things that you don't want to face. If you constantly run away from things that you don't want to face, how is there growth?

How is their mental toughness? I can give you a class all day long about self-talk, visualization, eat an elephant one bite at a time. But if you're never putting yourself in a situation to actually practice these things, you're never going to grow. I can't put you out there in a... We're all going through a battle in our mind. A warrior is not a person that carries a gun. The biggest warrior you'll ever go through is right between your own ears.

It's in your mind. We're all going through a war in our mind and we have to callous our mind to fight that war and to win that war. When I first got into endurance events, I loved the breakdown phase because the suffering made me feel alive and reminded me that I'd gone all out. This time, I didn't relish it in the same way.

But I knew that breakdown was a byproduct of an all-out effort and that if I explored the crevices of my mind, I would find valuable lessons, which tend to spill out with any unraveling. Most people prefer to avoid breakdowns like this because the suffering can be so overwhelming, it just might mark you forever. I embrace breakdown and welcome the scarring.

There is a hell of a lot of information in scar tissue. Scars are proof that the past is real. Physical scars never go away. And when you look at them, they can bring you right back to a specific place in time. But the scar tissue that builds up around that old injury is weak. Professional fighters who've been hit in the face thousands of times bleed faster than those who have never been punched. Once you've been cut deep, you are forever vulnerable to bleeding.

The same is true for the mental and emotional scars that we all carry with us. The scars we cannot see. They might be invisible, but they affect us much more severely than physical scars. Mental and emotional scars are our weak spots, and they can open up just as easily as physical scars unless we do the work to strengthen them.

If you haven't dealt with your scars, they can alter your life's path. You will be prone to failure during difficult physical and emotional situations, whether that's during an athletic event at work or in your home life. And eventually, you will land back in front of your mirror that never lies. Breakdown is its own kind of mirror. Whatever you're made of is laid out in front of you clear and plain. Your history is

and mindset become a weather old map ridged with your scars. And if you read them like an archaeologist on a dig, you might uncover the code you need to rise again and become better and stronger. Because there is no transformation without breakdown and there is always another evolution, another skin to shed, a better or deeper version of ourselves waiting to be revealed.

Every morning I wake up, it's not just about working out, but for me, working out has been a very big part of my mental growth. So for me, if I am not challenging myself every day, and I swear to God, people will not believe it. I was over almost 300 pounds twice in my life. A person that does that twice in his life does not enjoy cardiovascular activity. Okay? So people can put anything they want to in their head. I did realize one thing.

The things I don't enjoy that I still do, that's where growth is at. And that's, for me, the only place growth is at is in that very uncomfortable, you know, in that uncomfortable zone. So for instance, today I woke up and I just got to London.

and I don't know where to run here. It's very difficult to run around this place. So someone said, "Hey, you can run around out here, "like around this one mile block." And I'm like, "You know what? "I'm not doing that." So I went down to the gym, and there's this like crazy elliptical trainer, but it's not a normal elliptical trainer. It's one that you like almost self-power. So I got on that thing, and I realized, man, sucks. And after like two minutes, I was like, "I don't want to do this."

So, right then I realized, it looks like we're going to be here for a while. So I did that for two hours and 45 minutes. So, I'm not saying do that, but that's something I did today. Once my mind said, you know what, let's not do this today. I said, well, since my mind went there, I redirected it and said, just for having that weak thought, we're going to be on here for a while. For many people, the haunting begins the minute they wake up.

Maybe they are fat or disabled, feel ugly, or are failing and overwhelmed at school or work, and it consumes them. Their obsession with their own imperfections and faults suffocates self-respect and submarines progress. And from the time they get out of bed until they're able to crawl back in that night, the only thing on their agenda is avoiding exposure and surviving another day in hell. When that's how you feel about yourself,

It's impossible to see possibilities or seize opportunities. We have to learn to stop looking for a sign that the hard time will end. When the distance is unknown, it is even more critical that you stay locked in so the unknown factor doesn't steal your focus. The end will come when it comes and anticipation will only distract you from completing the task in front of you to the best of your ability. Remember, the struggle is the whole journey. That's why you're out there.

It's why you signed up for this race or that class or took the damn job. There is great beauty when you're involved in something that is so hard. Most people want it to end.

We can make any obstacle as big or small as we like. When you're climbing a mountain or involved in any other difficult task, the only way to free yourself from the struggle is to finish it. So why bitch about it when it gets hard? Why hope it will end soon when you know it will end eventually? When you complain and your mind starts groping for the eject button, you are not bringing your best self to the task.

which means you are actually prolonging the pain. The hard chargers keep their heads down and hammer away. They have trained their minds to stay hard in those hard moments. They recognize the false summit for what it is and will always act as if they are nowhere near the top. Most people slow down and suffer on a steep trail

But slope and elevation are of no consequence to the hard charger. They keep their mind in attack mode until there are no more mountains to climb. And when they actually reach the top, they wish it had lasted a little bit longer. If you want to maximize minimal potential and become great in any field, you must embrace your savage side and become imbalanced, at least for a period of time. You'll need to funnel every minute of every single day into the pursuit of that degree.

that starting spot, that job, that edge. Your mind must never leave the cockpit, sleep at the library or the office, hoop long past sundown and fall asleep watching film of your next opponent. There are no days off and there is no downtime when you're obsessed with being great. That is what it takes to be the baddest mother ever at what you do. Know that your dedication will be misunderstood. Some relationships may break down.

The savage is not a socialized beast and an imbalanced lifestyle often appears selfish from the outside. But the reason I've been able to help so many people with my life story is precisely because I embraced being that imbalanced while I pursued the impossible dream of becoming the hardest mother ever. That's a mythical title, but it became my compass bearing, my North Star,

When you observe highly successful individuals, it may seem tempting to conclude that they were inherently born with their capabilities, that they possess innate talent. And that's the end of the story. However, talent, while undoubtedly making life more straightforward, is just one piece of the puzzle. Reflecting back, I was once a shy and fearful person. Ironically, this apparent misfortune turned into a source of strength.

igniting significant changes in my life. By consistently stepping out of my comfort zone, I not only conquered social shyness and improved my communication skills, but also nurtured robust self-confidence and overcame other fears in my life. I might not have been naturally inclined to excel in social settings. I still prefer solitude over crowds. However, with self-discipline and persistent effort, I attained remarkable results.

So the next time you think you lack talent in a particular area or believe you weren't born with inherent abilities, remind yourself that in many situations, self-discipline can compensate for the absence of inborn traits.

Living life seems easy when you take the hard path and challenging when opting for the easy way out. Self-discipline demands traversing the difficult route, resisting temptations and immediate gratification in exchange for more substantial and superior rewards in the future. It might seem simpler to avoid discomfort and indulge in immediate pleasures.

But eventually, this approach only offers fleeting pleasure at the cost of a potentially much improved future. Imagine a person lacking determination who, when faced with a challenge, chooses to withdraw immediately. How likely is such an individual to achieve something significant in life when their primary value lies in seeking comfort?

Contrast this with someone who voluntarily embraces difficulties. They actively seek and welcome challenges as opportunities for personal growth. Each self-imposed trial toughens them, making them less susceptible to being overwhelmed by life's adversities. They become more resilient as they face difficulties head on.

When life throws unexpected challenges at them, they are prepared to handle them because due to living their lives through perseverance, they've developed readiness for hardships. Our decisions are made in a moment, but their repercussions can extend throughout a lifetime. Humans possess the ability to resist impulses in exchange for a brighter future. Unfortunately, many people live by the principle of if it feels good, do it. And if it doesn't, don't do it.

Yielding to temptations whenever they arise is akin to surrendering your humanity in certain ways. As intelligent beings, we have the capacity, and I would venture to say the obligation, to base our decisions on rational thinking, not just on instinct alone. Strive to be a better human by embracing your humanity. Exercise your willpower muscle instead of surrendering to the most primal and least powerful

beneficial part of your brain for long-term goals. While primal instincts may provide immediate comfort,

they rarely serve well in the long run no don't take it like go out there and run through a brick wall as many times as you can no i'm not saying be me don't run 205 miles at one time i'm not saying do that i'm saying start to learn the mind is powerful it's powerful man it's unbelievable but people need they need a thing to get them going

They need a thing. They need a goal. Sometimes the first step is the hardest. It's hard to take that one millionth step too, but sometimes the first step is the most... There's something about the... What do I do? They start going over their phone. They start calling people. They don't get out of the house. There's something about...

procrastination. It's like, you know, it's painful. You know, you should be doing things, but you just keep doing it. You keep itching that scab. I procrastinate like man every day. That's what's so funny, man. People looking like I'm some damn superhero that came down from the gods from the heavens of earth. No, man, I don't want to do. I'm looking at my shoes for 30 minutes sometimes thinking, man,

Man, people look up to you Goggins. Damn. I'm like, I want to do this shit, man. But guess what? You do it. I'm going to do it. As long as you do it. And that's what I know about it, man. That's why I stopped doing it. I'm thinking, man, you sit here, you look at your shoes for 30, 40 minutes.

You're going to go. You're going to think about it all day long. You're going to do it anyway. And sometimes you don't have the time to look at your shoes for 30 minutes. No. Those are the beautiful days. Yes. Because you know you just have to go. That's right. And so there's no room for procrastination. And that's when I was in the military, I loved my schedule because I knew I had to be at work at 7 o'clock. So you better get your ass up at 4 o'clock, man. You got to get up, brother. Because I had to get up before I got up.

So that was my mentality back then, man. I had to get the miles and get everything in, man, and get to work, man. I'm competing with the alpha males.

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