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Can't Hurt Me: by David Goggins, Review and Discussion

justacar

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Where are all the Goggins lovers who voted for this book? Where's your review!? ;) I'm only 50% finished so I hope to have a review shortly.

Just wrote a *very short* review. I think the book is great, but it still doesn't do him justice. You just have to watch the guy on video. His interviews on Rogan or on ImpactTheory on Youtube are amazing.
 
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goodwood

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I tried reading, then I tried listening, then I tried just watching a couple of interviews he gave. I'm out - no review from me.

While admittedly I did not read it, it seems to me this book doesn't have anything unique - no takeaways that you can't get anywhere else. I've been doing my best lately to acknowledge sunk cost fallacy traps and I believe not finishing this book will be a small achievement in and of itself.

Looking forward to Atomic Habits!
 

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While admittedly I did not read it, it seems to me this book doesn't have anything unique - no takeaways that you can't get anywhere else.

Here’s what I don’t get about book reviews. It’s not the author’s fault if you’ve read books of similar things in the past.

If you pick up a real estate book and it’s your 50th rei book, it’s going to probably be repetitive. But if it’s abother guy’s 2nd book it may have some good info for him. This doesn’t change the quality of the content in the book.

I don’t use my current level of knowledge to judge a book, else all those dr Seuss books are getting zero stars from me!
 

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My joints, tendons and other soft tissue could not handle the load. (I have a small frame) so I ended up on an orthopedic surgeon's table multiple times with multiple surgeries to correct the stress I put them under.

I used to train at the gym performing your typical weightlifting routine with compound exercises because that's what everybody said was effective. It never worked that great for me. I always suffered from little pains after every workout, particularly my back.

When I switched to calisthenics, I immediately noticed a difference. I felt like I was actually doing something healthy for my body, unlike weightlifting which felt like trying to destroy it. It was more fun, I felt more supple, and I stopped having these little pains.

I believe it's much harder to hurt yourself when you're doing bodyweight exercises because it's just a more natural way to train.

This is also what Paul Wade says in Convict Conditioning:

One of the major problems with modern forms of strength and resistance training is the damage they do to the joints. The joints of the body are supported by delicate soft tissues—tendons, fascia, ligaments and bursae—which are simply not evolved to take the pounding of heavy weight-training. Weak areas include the wrists, elbows, knees, lower back, hips, the rhomboid-complex, spine, and neck. The shoulders are particularly susceptible to damage from bodybuilding motions. You’ll be lucky to find anybody who has been lifting weights for a year or more who hasn’t developed some kind of chronic joint pain in one of these areas.

And then later in the book:

This damage is done because bodybuilding motions are largely unnatural. In order to place a great deal of emphasis on the muscles, the body is forced to hoist heavy external loads in motions and at angles not usually found in nature. One side-effect of this punishment is a vast amount of stress on vulnerable joints, joints which are forced to endure this horror repetitively over time. The result is soft tissue tears, tendonitis, arthritis and other maladies. The joints become inflamed and scar tissue or even calcifications begin to build up, making the joints weaker and stiffer. Bodybuilding movements primarily target the muscles, which adapt much faster than the joints; this means that the more muscular and advanced a bodybuilder becomes, the worse the problem gets.
 
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LuckyPup

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Here’s what I don’t get about book reviews. It’s not the author’s fault if you’ve read books of similar things in the past.

If you pick up a real estate book and it’s your 50th rei book, it’s going to probably be repetitive. But if it’s abother guy’s 2nd book it may have some good info for him. This doesn’t change the quality of the content in the book.

I don’t use my current level of knowledge to judge a book, else all those dr Seuss books are getting zero stars from me!
I get that, which is why I try to preface my comments with a disclaimer of my own bias (at least I think I did that in my review). Reviews, by their nature, are subjective and each reviewer writes from his/her own context. Without knowing a reviewer's slant, it's kinda like arguing about religion or politics - much ado about nothing.

Maybe the review structure could include a section about the "who might benefit" and "who won't benefit" from the book. I dunno. Just a thought.

What I don't get is somebody offering an opinion when he hasn't read the book... at all. Huh?
 

goodwood

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Here’s what I don’t get about book reviews. It’s not the author’s fault if you’ve read books of similar things in the past.

If you pick up a real estate book and it’s your 50th rei book, it’s going to probably be repetitive. But if it’s abother guy’s 2nd book it may have some good info for him. This doesn’t change the quality of the content in the book.

I don’t use my current level of knowledge to judge a book, else all those dr Seuss books are getting zero stars from me!

Very valid point. It still seems to me, much like the story of Chris McCandless in Into the Wild, the takeaways from this book seem to be indirectly telling you what NOT to do while portraying some ridiculous machismo storyline. But that's just my opinion and I'm very willing to be wrong - opinions are like a$$holes after all.

What I don't get is somebody offering an opinion when he hasn't read the book... at all. Huh?
My apologies as I wrote that in haste. I did attempt to read the book but didn't feel like I was getting much in return.

I was, and still am, intrigued by this book review concept. Unlike many book clubs (for lack of a better term), this one seems driven by personal growth rather than leisure. I typically prefer to make my own judgment on a person, place, or thing instead of taking someone else's comments as gold. However, the reviews plus my personal experience told me I did not need to finish this book. Hope that makes more sense.
 

LuckyPup

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I used to train at the gym performing your typical weightlifting routine with compound exercises because that's what everybody said was effective. It never worked that great for me. I always suffered from little pains after every workout, particularly my back.

When I switched to callisthenics, I immediately noticed a difference. I felt like I was actually doing something healthy for my body, unlike weightlifting which felt like trying to destroy it. It was more fun, I felt more supple, and I stopped having these little pains.

I believe it's much harder to hurt yourself when you're doing bodyweight exercises because it's just a more natural way to train.

This is also what Paul Wade says in Convict Conditioning:



And then later in the book:
Not to go down a rabbit hole here, but have you been able to gain any mass with just calisthenics? Also, do you follow Convict Conditioning or another program? The reason I ask is that I had been doing a 5x5 in an attempt to gain mass, but tore my left labrum. My range of motion is also nonexistent. Time to back off the weights and turn to bodyweight exercises, I'm afraid.
Very valid point. It still seems to me, much like the story of Chris McCandless in Into the Wild, the takeaways from this book seem to be indirectly telling you what NOT to do while portraying some ridiculous machismo storyline. But that's just my opinion and I'm very willing to be wrong - opinions are like a$$holes after all.


My apologies as I wrote that in haste. I did attempt to read the book but didn't feel like I was getting much in return.

I was, and still am, intrigued by this book review concept. Unlike many book clubs (for lack of a better term), this one seems driven by personal growth rather than leisure. I typically prefer to make my own judgment on a person, place, or thing instead of taking someone else's comments as gold. However, the reviews plus my personal experience told me I did not need to finish this book. Hope that makes more sense.
It does make sense. Funny, I also thought of McCandless when reading "Can't Hurt Me," and I felt the same way about both guys. It wasn't until my daughter read it in English recently, also watching interviews with his siblings, that I viewed McCandless in a more sympathetic light. I'm trying to give Goggins the same license.
 
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goodwood

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It does make sense. Funny, I also thought of McCandless when reading "Can't Hurt Me," and I felt the same way about both guys. It wasn't until my daughter read it in English recently, also watching interviews with his siblings, that I viewed McCandless in a more sympathetic light. I'm trying to give Goggins the same license.

This is precisely why I'm a big believer in strong opinions loosely held. I think I simply take issue with the perceived purpose for telling the story rather than the story and protagonist specifically. The McCandless story as it was told, IMO, was too glorifying and lacked the obvious unpreparedness parts. Funny you found a similarity! Great discussion, thanks for the reply.
 

NuclearPuma

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Not to go down a rabbit hole here, but have you been able to gain any mass with just calisthenics? Also, do you follow Convict Conditioning or another program? The reason I ask is that I had been doing a 5x5 in an attempt to gain mass, but tore my left labrum. My range of motion is also nonexistent. Time to back off the weights and turn to bodyweight exercises, I'm afraid.

It does make sense. Funny, I also thought of McCandless when reading "Can't Hurt Me," and I felt the same way about both guys. It wasn't until my daughter read it in English recently, also watching interviews with his siblings, that I viewed McCandless in a more sympathetic light. I'm trying to give Goggins the same license.
Instead of just giving up and resorting to body weight exercises, think instead of your training as being "body conscious."

I've been weight training for 12 years. I love free weights and have always used them. I've experimented with nearly every training template out there.

Free weights are not "unnatural." They are great.

What is unnatural is people forcing themselves to follow some particular "form" or "right way" of doing an exercise.

What you need to find is "your way" of performing an exercise that feels natural and free and isn't straining your joints.

And you also need to accommodate your own body. I have a problem with my right knee and cannot squat the "right way" because it causes me pain.

I have really long arms and cannot Bench the "right way" because I get shoulder pain after a few sessions.

So I squat and bench "my way."

For legs, walking lunges with dumbbells, light weight front squat with a wider stance, body weight single leg squats holding something for assistance.... I think heavy back squats are a terrible exercise, front squats are a lot safer, less stress on your body, better for building your core muscles, and build just a great a physique. But they are less common because people focus too much on doing a big weight rather than doing what is best for their body.

Be body conscious.

For Bench, I use a very narrow grip and I don't always lower the bar to my chest, I lower my elbows to where my bicep is parallel to my upper body (like it would be if standing up arms hanging down). To bring the bar to my chest brings my elbows behind me, and causes shoulder stress.

5x5 is a lot of volume in my opinion, more than necessary. I know it works for a lot of people, but I suspect it also burns a lot of people out or injures them.

Also, all exercises have substitutes that may be more comfortable for you.

Find what you like, make your body feel good, it will be a lot easier to be consistent. Don't force yourself into someone else's rule set. There are no fixed rules.
 
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LuckyPup

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Instead of just giving up and resorting to body weight exercises, think instead of your training as being "body conscious."

I've been weight training for 12 years. I love free weights and have always used them. I've experimented with nearly every training template out there.

Free weights are not "unnatural." They are great.

What is unnatural is people forcing themselves to follow some particular "form" or "right way" of doing an exercise.

What you need to find is "your way" of performing an exercise that feels natural and free and isn't straining your joints.

And you also need to accommodate your own body. I have a problem with my right knee and cannot squat the "right way" because it causes me pain.

I have really long arms and cannot Bench the "right way" because I get shoulder pain after a few sessions.

So I squat and bench "my way."

For legs, walking lunges with dumbbells, light weight front squat with a wider stance, body weight single leg squats holding something for assistance.... I think heavy back squats are a terrible exercise, front squats are a lot safer, less stress on your body, better for building your core muscles, and build just a great a physique. But they are less common because people focus too much on doing a big weight rather than doing what is best for their body.

Be body conscious.

For Bench, I use a very narrow grip and I don't always lower the bar to my chest, I lower my elbows to where my bicep is parallel to my upper body (like it would be if standing up arms hanging down). To bring the bar to my chest brings my elbows behind me, and causes shoulder stress.

5x5 is a lot of volume in my opinion, more than necessary. I know it works for a lot of people, but I suspect it also burns a lot of people out or injures them.

Also, all exercises have substitutes that may be more comfortable for you.

Find what you like, make your body feel good, it will be a lot easier to be consistent. Don't force yourself into someone else's rule set. There are no fixed rules.
Thanks. I'm not trying to force myself into another's routine, I just need to add more functional exercises and back off the heavier weight a bit. The 5x5 is a good mass builder, which is why I was doing it. Appreciate the feedback.
 
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MTF

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Not to go down a rabbit hole here, but have you been able to gain any mass with just calisthenics? Also, do you follow Convict Conditioning or another program? The reason I ask is that I had been doing a 5x5 in an attempt to gain mass, but tore my left labrum. My range of motion is also nonexistent. Time to back off the weights and turn to bodyweight exercises, I'm afraid.

Oh man, that sounds very painful.

My primary goal as a rock climber is to get stronger and leaner so gaining mass is not really my priority.

But for gaining mass, it doesn't really matter whether you do calisthenics or lift weights; it's all about the overload principle and a proper diet and you can achieve it with bodyweight exercises, too.

Maybe it's not as straightforward as putting one more plate on your barbell, but it forces you to be more conscious about how you perform your workouts (simply adjusting your form slightly can make a bodyweight exercise much more difficult).

I now follow my own plan based on Convict Conditioning and Get Strong by Kavadlo brothers that takes into account my own goals related to the sports I practice. I recommend both books as a good compendium of bodyweight exercises, including how to progress (for example, there are countless ways to make regular push-ups much harder).
 

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Format: Audible

My thoughts/review:
I loved the way he described his hacking of his mindset. I have personally his that "wall" many times and hear to the voice of reason saying "nope, this is it, this is your limit" but, listening to his story, I can understand better the need to overcome this alert system and just move forward and push beyond my comfort zone.

Favorite (or least favorite) chapter:
The chapter about the mental governor and what controls our "need" to stop as a precaution to avoid the pain. The 40% rule was fascinating and a great way for me to understand that this is a fake limitation and that we can do way more than what we tell ourselves.

Main takeaway:
My potential is way beyond what my self imposed limitations dictate.
 

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hilarious - i haven't logged in here in a bit.. and then i see this hovering on the front page when i do. I read this 2 weeks ago and loved it. Most people don't work hard enough and find excuses, Goggins did the opposite and made himself into someone he should have never became.
 
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million$$$smile

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I really liked it.

I didn't read it to gain wisdom on personal growth, nor how to develop a new killer mindset. I read it more as an autobiography of his life, and what he did to overcome some extremely dysfunctional circumstances in his early years.

I would have to agree that it sounds like he might be totally lacking in the personal relationship department, but who wouldn't be if they grew up in a similar situation. He had absolutely no control in his youth, so he grew up trying to control his mental and physical body. His focus on that particular aspect seems like he never learned what entails relationship, basically because there were no sustaining foundation of a loving relationship in his early life. I mean, read about the 100,000 child soldiers of Africa. Would one expect most of these soldiers to ever have sustaining non-dysfunctional relationships in later years?

Goggin's has definitely overcome a lot from where he came from, and most likely has some demons to conquer in other areas of his life. He even mentions on Audible how hard it was for him to pull these memories back up and relive them. Almost anyone that has been abused has a hard time in the relationship department without some counseling.

He has extreme mental toughness that he has learned to develop.
I respect and admire that.
I can understand it might even make some uncomfortable for other reasons already stated, but there are many others that have been high achievers in business also and other areas of their life are in chaos, just look at J. Paul Getty or Howard Hughes or some celebrities, politicians, or priests.

Best Takeaway:
For me it was pretty simple.
When you're ready to quit, just put one foot in front of the other and keep going...
 

Kung Fu Steve

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My Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5 stars
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Format: Audible

My thoughts/review:

The book was okay. He's not the most elegant communicator but message received.

More than Goggins' story... I spent the entire read extremely nostalgic of my martial arts training days.

We used to run 10 miles every morning and do plyometrics for an hour or so before breakfast. In those days I was working out 8 hours per day at least. Training and exercising. 5,000 some pushups, situps, and tuck jumps every single day.

For months on end...

I remember the bruising and the soreness and the smell of tiger balm and the knees the sizes of watermelons... I just wouldn't change it for the world. In those moments of pain during training I was in bliss.

I can understand where his mindset was... and I can understand the sacrifices it took in my personal life to do that.


Favorite (or least favorite) chapter:

I liked the stories more than anything. The "challenges" were lacking in my eyes but once again I think that's just the lack of skills in communicating those ideas.

Main takeaway:

I need to hit the gym more.
 

MashaN

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These pains come compliment of a strong mental attitude as Goggins professes: "Stop being a pussy, fight through it -- you can do anything!"
We talk a lot about how to win others. Whether it's in friendships, business, sales etc. But I think it's as important to understand the strategy of winning our own mind. The principle of push vs pull, that is so effective when it comes to attracting others is as relevant when it comes to setting the right mechanics for our mind AND BODY, to be congruent with everything we put it through. When it comes to David Goggin's, it feels to me like there's only one switch - accepting physical and mental suffering at any cost.
That is not to suggest that we should avoid struggle and suffering. The struggle, without a doubt, is one of the 'ingredients' to growth. But it is by far not the only one.
 
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My Rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars
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(The STAR/X emojis are under the emoji icon, under "commenting icons.")

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My thoughts/review:
As you can tell from my rating that I liked 'Can't Hurt Me' by David Goggins quite extensively. It really opened up my eyes to my capabilities and to not limit them, regardless of my upbringing or circumstances. In the book, Goggins' focuses on several points which I'll mention in the main takeaway section, the book however was written well and kept my attention for longer than any book has (I read it in 6 days, faster than I've read any other book that's over 300 pages). I could barely put it down to say the least.

I thought at times the chapters dragged on and bragged about his accomplishments rather than adding to the story or the message, but for the most part I found 95% of the book wanting me to find out what's going to happen next; will he finally get initiated into the SEALS? Will he finally navigate through the damn woods in the Rangers? Will he be able to complete the Badwater Ultra?

I was recommended to read this book by my sister's husband, and I couldn't thank him enough. 'Can't hurt me' has changed my life immensely in such a short amount of time, I'm no longer limiting myself as a human; whether that's through business, mentally or physically. I'm now doing double gym sessions in the mornings instead of just one, because if Goggins can run 100's of miles with fractured feet, I can F*cking put in an extra hour every morning.

Read this book to change your life.

Favorite (or least favorite) chapter:
I honestly couldn't choose my favourite chapter. I loved so many, especially the ones to do with him and his time serving or improving his skillsets through different military chapters.

Main takeaway:
The main takeaway for me was that us as humans are becoming way too soft in everyday life. We get offended, we give up, we take the path of least resistance. F*ck that.

There are several points throughout the book that are key takings:
  • We only use 40% of our body's capabilities, keep pushing
  • Break free of circumstance, luck is what you make of it
  • Stretch! It can save your F*cking life
  • Always keep learning and never settle for anything less than your best self

If you need a real big F*cking kick up the a$$, this book is for you. If you have life figured out and you think you're where you need to be, this book is for you; because I can guarantee that you can be better.
 

ygtrhos

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My thoughts/review:
I think the book is a great story, but I had many moments where I had "oh, you are such a douchebag to say/do that".

Praise: I think his story is very inspiring. Like very, very. The dude has done incredible things by sheer will and hustle. Losing so much weight, passing that goddamn test, surviving Hell Week three times and joining delta, and walking 100 miles without training. Like WOW!

Criticism: I think a person who has never achieved anything in life might listen/read this and say "oh yeah, the only thing I should do is to PUSH,PUSH and PUSH" which is a terribly wrong strategy. I think he is very reckless, unplanned and unorganized, I really did not like this. He could have easily gotten a permanent disability at some point of his life. No success is worth that for me. I have actually seen that there are higher values than success for me in life.

Favorite (or least favorite) chapter:
Least favorite is this chapter where he tells his 100 mile run with no training, where he pushed himself to a kidney failure almost. So stupid... He should have actually told that as a bad example of how to succeed.

Most favorite is this chapter where he talks about his epic weight loss and his studies for the test. That was really epic.

Main takeaway:
You can always achieve incredible things with the will to work on it, no matter where you start. The turtle beats the rabbit.
 

Ninjakid

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Goes to perspective which I mention.

As for some of the reviews which speak positively about breaking mental obstacles and "enduring the pain", that sounds great in a book. But when you apply it, there can be detrimental consequences for life.

I used to visualize myself lifting huge amounts of weight at the gym. I psyched myself up to be superhuman. And you know what? It f*cking worked for a short period of time. I'd be able to do tricep dips with 3 45lb plates strapped to my waist, bench presses that would catch the eye of the meatheads where they'd say "WTF? How's that small dude lifting that much?" At the end of the day, my muscles got bigger but at a tremendous cost. My joints, tendons and other soft tissue could not handle the load. (I have a small frame) so I ended up on an orthopedic surgeon's table multiple times with multiple surgeries to correct the stress I put them under.

Now I can't lift sh*t without stress pain in all of these areas that had to have surgery.

The muscle atrophied and now a gym visit is simply to fight the sands of time which wants to erase more muscle.

These pains come compliment of a strong mental attitude as Goggins professes: "Stop being a pussy, fight through it -- you can do anything!"

Yea, I did it.

And now I can't.

And no mental attitude will change that, but the mental attitude put me there.

Health is not like money, you can't buy more. Treating your health so callously is, well, callous.

This.

I stopped lifting heavy weights for exactly this reason. I got sick of being in pain everyday, I would get swelling in my tendons that would last for days and every move being agony.

There's way better ways to be fit than destroying one's body.
 
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PedroG

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I'm listening to the audio book right now (about half way).

At the risk of coming off as a hater, I gotta say I was shaking my head the whole time he was describing what he went through during that race where he almost killed himself, for no F*cking reason.

I understand that he can teach us a lot about pushing through and accomplishing what we think is impossible, but that shit right there in that race, was completely unnecessary.

Risking his life for absolutely no reason! Didn't he also have a kid at that point? And then he was refusing to be taken to the hospital when he was pissing black liquid??

Am I supposed to applaud that shit? Cause to me it seems he just got a kick out of punishing himself for no reason. Someone who has truly mastered their mind doesn't need to do something like that to prove a point.

Sorry, I just had to come here and see if anyone agrees at least with that one part in the book.
 

PedroG

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My Rating: 1 stars out of 5 stars
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Format: Kindle

The book itself, is ZERO stars. But it gets 1 star because of David's persistence and mental toughness, and of course, his service to the military.

My thoughts/review:

Utterly brutal. So brutal, is it is the only book I ever tried to return back to Amazon. I'll never get back those hours I spent reading this book.

Normally, this is a book I would NOT finish, but this new review format we've launched here on the forum I felt compelled to finish it. In the latter chapters, I started skimming when it was clear it was more of the same.

That said, what we have here is a book that is 90% longer than it needs to be. For those of you who don't want to waste HOURS of your time reading this absolutely trainwreck of a book, let me give you a TLDR:
  1. Encounter tough challenge, some of it shock-worthy.
  2. Give excruciating details on how to deal, beat, manage that said challenge, from lacing your shoes, to your breathing, to how you just happened to wrap your hands up with tape, foam, or whatever. Repeat same stuff, over, and over, and over again. (This represents 95% of the book)
  3. When tough challenge isn't found, seek one out.
  4. Enter challenge unprepared, unplanned.
  5. Repeat ad nauseum.
Oh yea, then the meat (which is about .08% of this book -- add in some mental exercise to help you break your mental obstacles.)

By the end of the story, I felt sorry for David.

Here is someone who truly does NOT know how to relax and clearly lacks perspective on what truly matters in life.

Some things that irked me...
  • David recklessly takes on challenges with little preparation. It is only after failing miserably (and damaging his body) is when he suddenly figures out, "Oh gee, maybe I should plan and prepare better."
  • David cares little about ANYTHING when it comes to beating some external challenge, running in the desert, pull-ups, running in the snow, etc. EVERYTHING IN HIS LIFE that doesn't fall into the future challenge category, is a secondary commodity in his life: his time, his relationships, his health, and his mental sanity.
  • He makes little mention of his wives, which as I expected, later became ex-wives. It is impossible for any person to be this neurotic and be able to hold a normal relationship. If nothing changes, David will probably either be single for the rest of his life, or only be engaged in dysfunctional relationships.
  • This poor man is lost in his head and has little perspective. He's pathological. Neurotic. Clinical.
  • David appears to have a glorified, sanitized view of combat as he mentions several times that he wanted to be in combat but was not called up for it. This (again) shows his lack of perspective -- combat is killing other human beings. No sane human being should want to do this.
  • In the same vain of perspective, no mention of his child. Does David approach his relationships with those he loves with the same zealotry? Wife? Child? Clearly he does not. Goes back again to perspective.
  • It makes ZERO sense to me how someone could waste their life with transient challenges that have transient benefits. In other words, you're working your a$$ off for a trophy? A mental checkmark in your head? WTF? David even says this: "Evaluate your life in its totality. We all waste so much time doing meaningless bullshit!" OMG, my mouth hit the floor. But wasting your entire year (and your relationships) to run X miles in the desert isn't meaningful bullshit? For the love of God, if you're going to disrupt your life, make sure the benefits last longer than a pat on the back, a certificate on the wall, and a mental trophy. For me, "meaningless bullshit" are stupid vanity competitions that help no one but the person doing them.
  • The book is deceptively titled: Should be titled: "My Excruciating Detailed Trials and Tribulations in Trying to Conquer My Inner Demons as a Navy Seal and Full Time Extreme Athlete."
  • With so many poor decisions he made, utterly destructive to his health/body, I feel he's lucky to be alive. I doubt he'll have a good quality of life as he gets older.
Favorite (or least favorite) chapter:

The last chapter, because that means it was almost done.

Main takeaway:

I'd recommend this book for something OTHER than its purpose.

Hey, you wanna see what it's like to lose perspective on things that matter? Read this book...
Hey, you wanna see what it's like to WIN every battle, but still lose the WAR? Read this book...
Hey, you wanna see someone be reckless with their health just for some mental trophies? Read this book...


Aside from the pathological issues David has, he doesn't seem to employ his own advice as I mentioned above. If you're going to neglect everything in your life, perhaps get something from it that lasts longer than 9 seconds of "I did it!" Obviously this method of achievement hasn't satisfied him. Because it continues. And it continued despite his body CRYING FOR HELP.

In other words, this is a case of the MORES, goals that are always moving. David is a chronic goalpost mover who will never be satisfied, will never relax, and will never stop living in the FUTURE.

David needs to read The Power of Now by Eckart Tolle.

To sum it up, if you want to read a book about a man who WINS self-inflicted battle after battle, but can't quite understand while he continually feels like he is LOSING the war, read this book.


Cool, I'm glad I wasn't the only one. I replied without having read anyone else's thoughts on the book.

As I said in my previous post, the guy hasn't mastered his mind at all. Someone who has doesn't do this to himself. As he's pissing black liquid, he even says he felt that was his trophy?? And that's why he didn't want to go to the hospital, because he didn't want pain pills? The guy is screwed up, not someone to look up to.

I don't think I'll be finishing the book.
 

ShamanKing

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My biggest takeaway was stretching. It healed my left shoulder which feels like it was torn for almost a year now.
 
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luniac

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I'm listening to the audio book right now (about half way).

At the risk of coming off as a hater, I gotta say I was shaking my head the whole time he was describing what he went through during that race where he almost killed himself, for no F*cking reason.

I understand that he can teach us a lot about pushing through and accomplishing what we think is impossible, but that shit right there in that race, was completely unnecessary.

Risking his life for absolutely no reason! Didn't he also have a kid at that point? And then he was refusing to be taken to the hospital when he was pissing black liquid??

Am I supposed to applaud that shit? Cause to me it seems he just got a kick out of punishing himself for no reason. Someone who has truly mastered their mind doesn't need to do something like that to prove a point.

Sorry, I just had to come here and see if anyone agrees at least with that one part in the book.

to be fair, Goggins states in the book to not be crazy like him.
 

Patrickg

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Cool, I'm glad I wasn't the only one. I replied without having read anyone else's thoughts on the book.

As I said in my previous post, the guy hasn't mastered his mind at all. Someone who has doesn't do this to himself. As he's pissing black liquid, he even says he felt that was his trophy?? And that's why he didn't want to go to the hospital, because he didn't want pain pills? The guy is screwed up, not someone to look up to.

I don't think I'll be finishing the book.


I am same boat. This is the first time I ever returned something on audible.

Didn’t even know you could... it was that bad in my opinion.
 

MJ DeMarco

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As I said in my previous post, the guy hasn't mastered his mind at all. Someone who has doesn't do this to himself. As he's pissing black liquid, he even says he felt that was his trophy?? And that's why he didn't want to go to the hospital, because he didn't want pain pills? The guy is screwed up, not someone to look up to.

Quite the paradoxical delusion indeed. He thinks he's mastered his mind, but the reality is, he's mastered one corner of it. The rest runs rampant.
 
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luniac

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Quite the paradoxical delusion indeed. He thinks he's mastered his mind, but the reality is, he's mastered one corner of it. The rest runs rampant.

But he's still alive and kicking in his mid 40's, and looks barely 30.
I think he mastered being a warrior.

EDIT:
in hindsight, maybe you got a point lol
 
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MTF

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Unfortunately it doesn't seem that David Goggins has learned his lessons from pushing his body too hard...

He got disqualified from Moab 240 because he experienced HAPE (high-altitude pulmonary edema) during the race and sought treatment. The doctor said that he could not go back to altitude, let alone for the race, for a minimum of 14 days.

A day later he posts this (he's back at high altitude to finish his race despite the risk to his life):

View: https://www.facebook.com/iamdavidgoggins/videos/435035513791577/
 

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Unfortunately it doesn't seem that David Goggins has learned his lessons from pushing his body too hard...

He got disqualified from Moab 240 because he experienced HAPE (high-altitude pulmonary edema) during the race and sought treatment. The doctor said that he could not go back to altitude, let alone for the race, for a minimum of 14 days.

A day later he posts this (he's back at high altitude to finish his race despite the risk to his life):

View: https://www.facebook.com/iamdavidgoggins/videos/435035513791577/

Wow. Sorta reinforces my opinion stated in this thread... dude's a mental train-wreck and not someone I'd want my child to hero-worship.
 
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ZF Lee

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Unfortunately it doesn't seem that David Goggins has learned his lessons from pushing his body too hard...

He got disqualified from Moab 240 because he experienced HAPE (high-altitude pulmonary edema) during the race and sought treatment. The doctor said that he could not go back to altitude, let alone for the race, for a minimum of 14 days.

A day later he posts this (he's back at high altitude to finish his race despite the risk to his life):

View: https://www.facebook.com/iamdavidgoggins/videos/435035513791577/
Well, at least he says something along the line of, 'Please don't do this stuff, but it's who I am, and I just want to finish this.'

Mad props to his focus and dedication, but wouldn't it be possible to finish the race at a later date, when he's healthier? No shame in that. Just like re-sitting exam papers you failed the first round.

Wow. Sorta reinforces my opinion stated in this thread... dude's a mental train-wreck and not someone I'd want my child to hero-worship.
Hero-worship in itself can be quite a train-wreck as well.
 

LuckyPup

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Unfortunately it doesn't seem that David Goggins has learned his lessons from pushing his body too hard...

He got disqualified from Moab 240 because he experienced HAPE (high-altitude pulmonary edema) during the race and sought treatment. The doctor said that he could not go back to altitude, let alone for the race, for a minimum of 14 days.

A day later he posts this (he's back at high altitude to finish his race despite the risk to his life):

View: https://www.facebook.com/iamdavidgoggins/videos/435035513791577/
Yeah, I don't think Goggins is long for this world. Pushing yourself is one thing, and he certainly has show that one can exceed one's own self-imposed limitations, but he's rewired his neurophysiology such that he will meet an early demise, IMO.
 

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