David Goggins grew up in an abusive household where he, his brother, and his mother were physically and emotionally abused by David’s father.
When he was eight, David and his mother left his father to start a new life. However, major damage had already been done, and more hardships were on the way.
Toxic stress led David to develop an uncontrollable stutter and severe social anxiety, among other problems.
Embarrassed about his learning challenges, he survived by cheating, but it eventually caught up with him. He found himself on the verge of not graduating from high school.
During his senior year, he got motivated by a dream to join the Air Force.
However, his struggles were not over. Four years later, he found himself discharged from the Air Force, nearly 300 pounds, and working a graveyard shift as an exterminator.
“I was a would-be warrior turned cockroach sniper on the graveyard shift. Just another zombie selling his time on earth, going through the motions,” he writes in his riveting memoir titled Can’t Hurt Me; Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds.
Few people, including David, would have predicted then or earlier in his life that he would eventually become the icon that he is today.
He became the only person to finish elite training as a Navy SEAL, U.S. Army Ranger, and Air Force tactical controller.
Outside of his distinguished military career, he has completed more than 60 ultramarathons, triathlons, and ultratriathlons. He also set a Guinness World Record by completing 4,030 pull-ups in 17 hours.
How did this man go from a depressed, obese exterminator to a relentless, world-class warrior?
He embraced discomfort and put himself through extreme mental toughness training.
He “callused” his mind by repeatedly stepping out of his comfort zone. It started with a short run, and it ramped up quickly from there.
He embraced discomfort and used it as a vehicle to become physically and mentally powerful. (Check out his incredible book for the full story.)
“Doing things- even small things- that make you uncomfortable will help make you strong. The more often you get uncomfortable, the stronger you’ll become,” he writes in Can’t Hurt Me.
What about you? How often do you take the path of most resistance and voluntarily do something uncomfortable?
Many people mistakenly think that more comfort leads to more happiness. The problem with that mindset, though, is that you don’t grow when you are comfortable.
Too much comfort is a recipe for becoming physically and mentally weak.
You can’t talk yourself into becoming tougher. There are no shortcuts.
The only way to become tougher is to get out of your comfort zone more often.
If you’d like to improve your resilience, here is one practical way to get started. Walk through a typical day in your life and identify at least one way to make each day less comfortable. This behavior need not be complex or time-consuming.
Here are four simple examples to get started:
- Get up immediately when your alarm goes off instead of snoozing.
- Drink your morning coffee black instead of with cream and sugar.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
- End each shower with ice-cold water instead of warm water.
As you voluntarily add more discomfort to your life, a few things will happen.
First, you will realize you can handle much more than you thought. Secondly, your confidence will increase, and you will start taking on bigger challenges. Lastly, you will even start to enjoy some activities that used to be uncomfortable. Take that as a cue to add another uncomfortable behavior to each day.
Why put yourself through voluntary discomfort?
No matter who you are or what you want to achieve, you will face unpleasant situations that will test your resilience and mental toughness.
If you aren’t actively training yourself to be ready for these situations, you will be more likely to give up or buckle under pressure.
Train yourself to embrace discomfort, and you will be ready when inevitable challenges arise.
You only grow by doing things that are difficult and uncomfortable.
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About the Author
Pete Leibman is a speaker and author who helps consultants, lawyers, and advisors build the energy, focus, and resilience to sustain high performance. He delivers webinars, keynotes, workshops, and programs for leading consulting firms, law firms, and financial services firms. He also speaks at universities and at conferences. Pete is the author of three books and more than 300 articles on high performance. His latest book is Stronger Advisor: High-Performance Habits for Consultants, Lawyers, and Advisors.
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