By Alexander Taylor

 

The Hardest Man in the World

So there’s this guy called David Goggins.

I’ve just finished reading his book, Can’t Hurt Me.

It was intense.

He’s an ex-Navy Seal, with a tormented past and one of the strongest resolves on the face of the earth.

If not the strongest.

Listening to this guy’s story was incredible.

He came from absolutely nothing. A bleak past dealing with poverty and racism.

Bullied at school, he tried for years to fit in.

He was 290 pounds and spraying for cockroaches as his day job.

He came home from a long shift, and turned on the TV.

What he saw changed him forever.

Navy Seals going through Hell Week.

As part of their selection process they enter seven days of continued, extreme physical training.

In and out of freezing water.

Constant press-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups and runs.

In 168 hours they might manage 2 hours sleep if lucky.

He saw desperation, pain, and suffering. Chiselled on the face of hardened men. Guys quitting left, right, and centre. Screaming, crying, falling asleep on the spot.

Goggins’ eyes lit up.

He went to the mirror and shaved his head.

In that moment, he vowed to cultivate the hardest mindset in the world, to be unbreakable.

In his words, to become the baddest motherfucker on the planet.

The Navy laughed him out the recruitment office.

At 290 pounds, he’d have to lose 100 in just 3 months.

So he ran.

At first he couldn’t run round the block.

Now, he’s an ex-Navy Seal who runs ultra-marathons just because he can.

He endured the Badwater 135. 135 miles through peak heat in Death Valley.

A race hard enough by distance alone, but also one where you can eat fried egg by cracking one over a rock.

He failed two Hell Weeks and bruised his way through the third. The first two because of broken bones. The third because he was the baddest motherfucker, and pushed aside a double pneumonia to push through.

But why?

Goggins believes it has brought him true happiness.

By becoming the best person he could possibly be, he eliminated any self-doubt or negativity in his brain.

He would train beyond muscle thresholds simply to train the mind.

By building up resilience in the mind, he could conquer anything.

He took these challenges so violently personally, that he wanted to put himself through the hardest things he possibly could in order to catalyst a change within.

We could learn so much from this man.

And it all starts with the mirror.

Take a good look at yourself.

Think about who you want to become.

Think about what is stopping you becoming that person.

You don’t have to spit blood and break bones in the Mojave desert.

That might not be your goal.

But if something is holding you back, be honest with yourself about it.

Goggins was.

And what was painful for him, ultimately brought him peace.