Can’t Hurt Me is an autobiography by David Goggins. He is known as the “fittest man in America.” ChatGPT recommended this book to help me with my discipline.
He begins his story by recounting his childhood with an abusive father. His father would regularly beat his two sons and wife, while also forcing them to work for him at his roller skating rink all night. Despite the rink’s popularity and profitability, Goggins Sr. had questionable business practices and a rumored prostitution ring he was running. Goggins and his mother eventually fled to Indiana to escape the violence. He discusses his troubled upbringing, including racism he faced, his learning disability, and the trauma stemming from his past. He was in a constant state of “fight or flight” mode and barely finished high school.
Midway through senior year, he had a turning point, a “come-to-Jesus moment.” He looked in the mirror and berated himself. Sticky notes covered the mirror with things he was doing wrong and what he needed to accomplish to achieve his goal of becoming a Navy SEAL.
He turned his life around and studied hard to pass the grueling Navy SEAL entrance exam on his third try after failing the physical portion twice. After this, he became complacent, got out of shape, had a bad job, and his life was stagnant. One day, while drinking a chocolate milkshake and eating a whole box of Hostess donuts, he decided he needed to change. Recruiters scoffed at him, but one gave him a chance to lose 100 pounds in three months just for an opportunity. He pushed himself and succeeded. From there, pushing himself beyond extremes became his passion.
He made it through SEAL training on his third attempt after being medically dropped twice. The third time, he finished Hell Week with both legs fractured. He goes into excruciating detail about each attempt, the pain, blood, and bodily functions. From there, he continued to find new ways to torture his body. He attempted an ultra-marathon (100 miles) without training, and by mile 75, he was pushing blood and soiled himself. He kept going and finished. Later, his wife had to carry him to their apartment bath, where he continued to soil himself and was now pissing blood (kidney failure). She begged him to go to the hospital, but he refused, liking the pain and fearing pain medication. After proper training, he completed many more ultra-marathons and Ironman triathlons, winning some and placing in almost all of them. The Navy later made him their main recruiter after his time in service. To this day, he continues to push his body past its limits.
This was supposed to be a book about discipline, but that’s not what I took away from it. In my non-medical professional opinion, he has serious unresolved mental issues and may be a masochist. He doesn’t work out to get in shape or meet goals; he does it because he likes experiencing pain. He enjoys pushing past the pain to make his body do things it’s not supposed to do.
He admits in his book that every time he completes a goal, he’s sad and starts looking for another way to break his body. While the ability to push your mind to make your body do incredible things is great for extreme situations like surviving in the desert or being lost at sea, it’s not healthy for everyday life. That’s likely why his body started to break down at age 35.
I know many people, especially online, look up to this man for motivation, but I don’t see it. There’s a difference between setting goals and having the mindset to work towards them daily, and punishing your body every day because you love pain. It was all bad; there might have been a few quotes about your body only using 40% of its potential and relying on training to achieve goals. I wouldn’t recommend this book for discipline help, but for entertainment value or to see inside the mind of a very mentally damaged person, it’s a good read. 3 out of 5 stars.
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