David Goggins on Overcoming Self Doubt and Unapologetically Chasing Your Dreams [Excerpt]

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Excerpt: The following is an excerpt from Can’t Hurt Me. In it, David Goggins talks about overcoming self doubt and unapologetically chasing your dreams.

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The following is an excerpt from David Goggins’ book, Can’t Hurt Me.  In it, he discusses how we are programmed to seek comfort and how many of us live our lives in ways that are filled with self limiting beliefs, distractions, and safe spaces.

He shares with us the power of positive self talk and how it’s our inner dialogue that will have the biggest influence on our ability to move forward in spite of doubt and criticism that is fed to us from others—many times from the ones we love the most. 

If we can change our inner dialogue, ask ourselves the right questions, and silence negativity then we will be well on our way to realizing our capabilities and potential.  Please welcome Mr. Goggins for the details.  We hope this finds you well :) ~ Matt

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Enter David Goggins:

The Buddha famously said that life is suffering.  I’m not a Buddhist, but I know what he meant and so do you.  To exist in this world, we must contend with humiliation, broken dreams, sadness, and loss.  That’s just nature.  Each specific life comes with its own personalized portion of pain.  It’s coming for you.  You can’t stop it.  And you know it.

In response, most of us are programmed to seek comfort as a way to numb it all out and cushion the blows.  We carve out safe spaces.  We consume media that confirms our beliefs, we take up hobbies aligned with our talents, we try to spend as little time as possible doing the tasks we f*cking loathe, and that makes us soft.  We live a life defined by the limits we imagine and desire for ourselves because it’s comfortable as hell in that box.  Not just for us, but for our closest family and friends.  The limits we create and accept become the lens through which they see us.  Through which they love and appreciate us.

But for some, those limits start to feel like bondage, and when we least expect it, our imagination jumps those walls and hunts down dreams that in the immediate aftermath feel attainable.  Because most dreams are.  We are inspired to make changes little by little, and it hurts.  Breaking the shackles and stretching beyond our own perceived limits takes hard f*cking work—oftentimes physical work—and when you put yourself on the line, self doubt and pain will greet you with a stinging combination that will buckle your knees.

Most people who are merely inspired or motivated will quit at that point, and upon their return, their cells will feel that much smaller, their shackles even tighter.  The few who remain outside their walls will encounter even more pain and much more doubt, courtesy of those who we thought were our biggest fans.  When it was time for me to lose 106 pounds in less then three months, everyone I talked to told me there was no way I could do it.  “Don’t expect too much,” they all said.  Their weak-ass dialogue only fed my own self doubt.

But it’s not the external voice that will break you down.  It’s what you tell yourself that matters.  The most important conversations you’ll ever have are the ones you’ll have with yourself.  You wake up with them, you walk around with them, you go to bed with them, and eventually you act on them.  Whether they’re good or bad.

We are all our own worst haters and doubters because self doubt is a natural reaction to any bold attempt to change your life for the better.  You can’t stop it from blooming in your brain, but you can neutralize it, and all the other external chatter by asking, What if?

What if is an exquisite f*ck-you to anyone who has ever doubted your greatness or stood in your way.  It silences negativity.  It’s a reminder that you don’t really know what you’re capable of until you put everything you’ve got on the line.  It makes the impossible feel at least a little more possible.  What if is the power and permission to face down your darkest demons, your very worst memories, and accept them as part of your history.  If and when you do that, you will be able to use them as fuel to envision the most audacious, outrageous achievement and go get it.

We live in a world with a lot of insecure, jealous people.  Some of them are our best friends.  They are blood relatives.  Failure terrifies them.  So does our success.  Because when we transcend what we once thought possible, push our limits, and become more, our light reflects off all the walls they’ve build up around them.  Your light enables them to see the contours of their own prison, their own self-limitations.  But if they are truly the great people you always believed them to be, their jealousy will evolve, and soon their imagination might hop its fence, and it will be their turn to change for the better.

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If you enjoyed this excerpt on Overcoming Self Doubt and Chasing Your Dreams from David Goggins, definitely check out his book, Can’t Hurt Me below.  It comes highly recommended :)

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