Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds

If I were to describe Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds, by David Goggins in one word it would be extreme.

I first picked up this book after reading a comment on Reddit about how Can’t Hurt Me was a must-read for those seeking inspiration to improve themselves. I went into this book without any idea of who David Goggins was. And boy was I in for a ride!

Can’t Hurt Me is a biography of the life of a retired Navy Seal and World-Class Endurance Athlete, David Goggins. It details the story of his tough childhood with an abusive father all through to becoming a certified badass.

Main Takeaway

I’m not gonna lie, his early life story had me choked up with sympathy. I probably shed a few tears during the scene where David flees his father’s clutches with his mother and younger brother. Kudos to them for their bravery in the face of unimaginable danger.

But the thing that sticks most to me is probably the main premise of his story; his resilience.

Despite numerous setbacks, David constantly pushed himself, mentally and physically, to break free of his biggest obstacle; his own mind.

The 40% Rule

Through the course of Can’t Hurt Me, David Goggins introduces us to his theory called The 40% Rule.

When you think that you are done, you’re only 40% in to what your body’s capable of doing. That’s just the limits that we put on ourselves.

According to Goggins, the main reason we don’t achieve our goals isn’t due to external factors, but our own minds. We set ourselves to fail by taking the easy way out when things get a little tough.

This resonated with me because I realized that I’ve been taking the easy path my whole life.

The Path to Achieving Your True Potential

David outlines several steps to follow which helped him stay accountable and achieve his true potential.

My favorite strategies are the ones outlined in the first few chapters of the book (maybe because I haven’t ever gone past this stage in my life):

• Write down your challenges in a journal
• Confront yourself in the “Accountability Mirror” and be honest with yourself
• Develop a callused mind

Journal Your Challenges

The first step is the most simple yet supremely effective. Take out a notebook (or your iPhone’s Notes app) and note down your challenges to achieving something.

It is important to realize your challenges if you ever want to solve it. I have personally started applying this technique and guess what, it works!

Hold Yourself Accountable

Just writing down your challenges and flaws is just the first step! If you don’t take actions to solve your conundrum, it will never solve itself.

So this step is super effective. David suggests using an “accountability mirror” to have a brutal, much needed conversation with yourself.

Holding yourself accountable means to take the steps to recognize the problems you noted in the journal are real. You need to be stern with yourself to convince your mind that there is a problem. Only then can you begin to exceed the limitations set by your un-callused mind.

This brings us nicely to the next step in the path to unlocking your true potential; develop a callused mind.

Develop a Callused Mind

I remember when I first started playing basketball as a kid, the skin on my palms would get all rough and hurt. Yet after a few months of regular ball, the skin seemed to get harder and it stopped hurting.

This is called a callus.

David Goggins suggests to do the same but with your mind!

How can you achieve that? Does something about a task make you uncomfortable? Do that task everyday!

For example:

1. You want to lose some weight but hate exercise.
2. Force yourself to do solid exercise every day.

Putting your mind and body through uncomfortable situations will callous your mind and help break through the mental barriers you set up to skip the hard stuff.

I myself am trying this by trying to exercise every single day, regardless of how terrible I feel. Fingers crossed it works out!

Final Thoughts

There are several more steps outlined by David in Can’t Hold Me, but I personally haven’t gotten to applying them in my life yet. I am hoping that by writing this post I can begin to hold myself accountable and develop a calloused mind to achieve my true self.

Maybe I will update this post in the future with the rest of the steps to master my mind and achieve my true potential!

Thanks for reading my review of Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds, by David Goggins. I hope you pick up this book yourself and more importantly, apply its principles to break free of your mind and reach your full potential.