Going Full Goggins

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Mar 9, 2023 · 7 min read

Introduction

Every Monday, between 5-6 PM, I drive down to the local gym prepared to run. I dread those days. I can’t say why, but every time I hop out of my car, water bottle in hand, I get knots in my stomach. There’s a voice in my head that taunts, “Why are you doing this? You should be at home right now, watching a movie enjoying a delicious dinner! You know this is only going to hurt. What if you cramp up, shins start acting up again, or feel nauseous just like last time?”

I take a deep breath to remind myself why I’m there. “Good,” I think, “that’s exactly what I want.”

Three months ago I could barely run half a mile. My first time on the treadmill my breathing was heavy and uneven, my legs a torrent of pain, my mind screaming to quit. Today, I can run four times that easily, but I’m far from my goals. For the longest time, I’ve always liked running. I’m not good at it, but it’s a way for me to compete with myself, to chase this void where it’s just me and my thoughts.

I like running because my only competition is who I was from last week. It forces me to focus on my own race, to only compete with myself. I don’t look at what others do, they didn’t train the same way I did anyway, so what they do probably won’t work for me. I just compete with myself and focus on becoming better every day.

Running, though, is just a metaphor for everything I do in life. Whether it’s academic, physical, personal, or social in nature, I try to apply a special mentality to everything I do. I call this mentality “going full Goggins”. It was inspired by David Goggins’ book Can’t Hurt Me. David is a retired Navy SEAL, an ultramarathon runner (running 100-200 mile long races), author, and, in my opinion, one of the toughest human beings I’ve ever heard about.

If you’ve never heard of David Goggins before, I highly recommend his book Can’t Hurt Me. If you want, I encourage you to check out the Audible audiobook version, as it’s by far the best way to experience it.

Who Is David Goggins

As a child, Goggins faced life threatening abuse from his father. He ended up wetting the bed almost every night from the incredible amount of stress and anxiety his father put on him. Eventually, he and his mother ran away to Brazil, Indiana. As a senior in high school, he said he only had a fourth grade reading level. Finally, he decided enough was enough; he would face reality and turn his life around. From then on, for every hour of lecture he had in school, he would spend six hours at home transcribing notes and learning. He wrote thousands of flashcards of algebra equations and vocabulary. In six months he had gone from a 4th grade reading level to that of a 12th grader. But his hard work didn’t stop there.

After high school, while trying to join the U.S. Armed Forces, he failed the entrance exam twice before finally succeeding. Before joining the Navy, Goggins lost over 100 pounds in three months just to qualify for training. He tried three times to complete the necessary training to become a Navy SEAL. After multiple injuries and months of grueling hard work, he finally did it. He would later go on to become the only member of the U.S. Armed Forces to complete SEAL training, Army Ranger School, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training (see David’s homepage).

And that is just the surface of what he has done. I hope this shows that Goggins was no ordinary person, he brainwashed himself to fall in love with discomfort. While other people were sitting at home relaxing, he was studying. While the rest of the world slept, he’d be up at 5 AM to go to the gym. He worked tirelessly to reach his goals, but here’s the important part: he never stopped. So many people once they’ve reached the top think, “I made it, now I can finally rest”, but not Goggins. He was the type of person to say, “Now what?” always looking for the next challenge. There was no finish line. As Goggins puts it: the pursuit of excellence is a never ending journey.

Going Full Goggins

So how does David’s mindset and learned experiences fit into “going full Goggins”? Well to me, it means developing a no excuse mentality and pursue difficulty with excitement. It means pushing myself past the limit of what I think I’m capable of, even if that means doing things other people will call me crazy for. For example, when going for a run there are two types of people: those who have their running shoes on, step out the door to go for a run, see it’s raining and turn around to relax on the couch thinking, “Meh I’ll just go tomorrow”. Then there are those who have their running shoes on, step out the door to go for a run, see it’s raining and turn around to grab their raincoat. I want to be the latter.

Goggins coins this idea of the “40% Rule”, that states we only ever use only 40% of our total potential. Even if I feel like I’m at my limit during a run, I try to push myself just 1% farther because I know I’m really not quite there yet. Pushing past yourself, past whatever is holding you back, will make you start to see all you’re capable of and unlock that remaining 60%.

Goggins swears to the fact that once you accomplish the impossible, anything becomes possible. I used to think running 1 mile was impossible, until I ran 1.1 miles. That small push opened the door for me to run 1.5, then 1.8, then 2.8 miles. It’s crazy to me how good we are at convincing ourselves to quit, which is why when going full Goggins you need to believe you can accomplish anything and not settle for anything less than your best.

Seeing progress is another critical component of going full Goggins. Goggins insists on pushing yourself to be 5-10% better each week. You’ll make slow but visible and meaningful progress. Small progress shows you that your end goal, although difficult, is not impossible. It’s also very important to set limits so you don’t hurt yourself. Give yourself time to recover, and take one full rest day a week.

Having a “going full Goggins” mentality drives me to reach my goals at the gym, but it also does much more than that. It helps me push past what I thought impossible in all aspects of my life. It lays out a path for me to bridge who I am today to who I want to be tomorrow. Honestly, you can call this type of mentality whatever you want, but at it’s core it’s a formula for a driven love of hard work, and the best part is, that love lasts a lifetime. That’s because you’re always on the hunt for the next goal, the next way to better yourself, the next way to unlock your full potential.

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