Why I Chose to Read This Book:
I recently read David Goggins’ other motivational book “Can’t Hurt Me”, which was very helpful to me in terms of helping me get through my incarceration, as well as, upon my release. This is his follow-up book.
Book Summary
This book elaborates on Goggins’ philosophy, which is that we can accomplish almost anything if we are disciplined and put our mind to it. He sites himself as an example – he was the product of a broken home, he grew up poor, he had poor school performance, held dead-end jobs and was obese and unfit – – when at the age of 24 he decided to become a Navy SEAL. He worked hard to achieve that goal – – and even surpassed it by completing Army Ranger School, running multiple ultra-distance races, becoming a highly sought-after motivational speaker, a smokejumper and breaking the Guinness World Record by completing
4,030 pull-ups in 17 hours.
This book is divided into 9 chapters, which chronicle events in Goggins’ life. Following each chapter is an “Evolution”. These Evolutions detail the lesson that Goggins gleaned from that chapter and the take-home lesson for the reader. As an example, Evolution 4 states “Have the courage and mental endurance to do whatever it takes to start knocking down those walls. You are the warden of your life. Don’t forget you hold the keys”. The “walls” Goggins was referring to are the walls, or barriers to success.
Lessons Learned:
It’s not your fault that you were dealt a bad hand. But it is your responsibility. You cannot allow your past to hold you back. You must take control of your future.
You cannot be afraid to disappoint people. You have to live the life you want to live.
It will always be up to you to find the lesson in every sh***ty situation and use it to become stronger, wiser and better. No matter what comes down on your head, you must find a glimmer of light, remain positive, and never treat yourself as a victim.
Setbacks have the power to propel us forward to our greatest successes, but your fate depends on your approach. Your mind wants to either spin out into overthinking or fall back into numbness and complacency, and it takes practice to short circuit that process.
How This Book Can Help Me While Incarcerated and Upon My Release:
The lessons I learned from this inspirational book can help me in many ways. My incarceration is certainly a setback in my life. However, I will not allow myself to spinout into overthinking or become complacent. I have decided to use this experience to better myself. To that end, I have enrolled in many self-help courses given here as well as taking self-paced continuing education courses. By using this time to widen my horizons and to heal, I can emerge from here a better, healthier person, which will in turn maximize my chances for a successful reentry.
Another lesson important for me is not being afraid of disappointing people. I’m a people pleaser by nature. In my mind, I must be perfect, which of course, is impossible. The stress of not being perfect, and of disappointing people was responsible, in part, for leading me to make poor choices which ultimately led to my incarceration. Through therapy, and from some of the self-help courses I’m taking (and will take) I can learn to overcome my unattainable goal of perfection. This will help me in the long run to make better choices and to forever remain a law-abiding citizen.
I am finding the lessons in my sh***y situation. I am determined and am working hard on turning this experience into a learning situation, and I know that I will become stronger, wiser and better. I have the support and encouragement of my loved ones to help me to achieve this goal, which will ultimately lead to a successful incarceration and reentry.
To quote David Goggins: “I never needed to be the hardest mother f***r in the world. That became a goal because I knew it would bring out my best self. Which is what this f***ed-up world needs from all of us: to evolve into the very best versions of ourselves. That’s a moving target, and it isn’t a one-time task. It is a lifelong quest for more knowledge, more courage, more humility, and more belief. Because when you summon the strength and discipline to live like that, the only thing limiting your horizons is you”.
