Short Summary Can’t Hurt Me is an autobiographical book that contains 10 challenges to realize our full potential. By telling his own inspirational story of beating the odds, becoming a Navy SEAL and completing several ultra runs, David Goggins invites us to pursue excellence in everything we do.
We should view our challenges in life as opportunities. No matter how bad our circumstances are, we can change our lives. Goggins’ own life was riddled with physical and emotional abuse from a young age. Despite growing up poor and facing many challenges, he managed to turn his life around.
Despite all odds stacked against him, Goggins wanted to join the Air Force. Knowing that he had to turn his life around, he began holding himself accountable. He spoke to himself in the mirror while shaving. Every day, he wrote down his goals on Post-It notes and stuck them on his mirror.
You’ve probably heard of “tough love” before. What Goggins describes is almost like a form of tough loving yourself. You’re not beating around the bush. You’re not being soft on yourself. You’re telling yourself exactly what you need to hear, even if it hurts.
Goggins tells the story of being chased down a street by two dogs on one of his nightly runs. After this experience, and after confronting his fears, he made a habit of getting out of his comfort zone. Trying to become a Navy SEAL represented everything that was out of his comfort zone. It stood for what he was not at the time, but knew he could become. Goggins encourages us to get out of our comfort zone, one step at a time.
In life, there may be people whom we are competing against. This could be an actual opponent in sport, a teacher or a boss. Our best tool to earn their respect is excellence. By achieving what they can only dream of, we are able to gain the upper hand in the situation and win the mental battle.
Goggins describes his experience of Hell Week in Navy SEAL training. The purpose of Hell Week is to push recruits to their mental and physical limits and weed out those who don’t have what it takes. During Hell Week, Goggins and his team turned the tables: while being exhausted beyond imagination, they pushed past what they and their instructors thought was possible.
Rather shockingly, Goggins recalls the story of a fellow recruit who died of pneumonia during training. The incident was shrugged off by instructors. Throughout “Can’t Hurt Me”, there are plenty of reminders that, in fact, we can and will get hurt if we push our bodies too far.
Showing a level of resilience and endurance that even the Navy SEAL instructors weren’t used to, Goggins and his team were able to turn the tables and get into the heads of their instructors. They proved that they were able to do something their instructors couldn’t even dream of doing. This mental attitude allowed Goggins and his team to stay energized long after they gassed out. Rather than letting their instructors get into their heads, their goal was to get into their instructors' heads through sheer display of excellence.
This is an interesting mindset shift in competitive settings, such as in sports. It’s a version of: Don’t believe me? Watch me. You prove the other person wrong, in an act of sweet revenge. Others have described this as a source of motivation, but Goggins adds his own unique twist on it.
During his first ultra-distance run, David Goggins almost collapsed at the 70-mile mark. He had entered the race without any training or preparation, underestimating how big of a challenge it would be. At around the 70-mile mark, his body gave up. But after a brief break, he pushed through his exhaustion and managed to run 101 miles on that day.
Goggins points out that anyone can tap into an additional, hidden energy tank when things aren’t going as planned. We can do this by drawing from past accomplishments, whether they are small or big. Remembering what we have been capable of in the past can energize us in the present.
According to Goggins, life is like a game in which you’re competing against yourself. By gradually pushing yourself beyond your limits, you can overcome barriers that you thought were impossible to overcome. These barriers are mostly mental.
Physical challenges such as ultra races are great for building mental resilience. When you push yourself beyond what your body is capable of, you have to rely on your mind to get the job done. It’s during these tough times when your body wants to give up that you have to take control of your inner dialogue.
This is something that many athletes report, especially endurance athletes. You’ll hear similar things from boxers or MMA fighters who have to endure multiple rounds in the ring, even after getting knocked down or hurt. In business, sport and life, much of what we do is determined by mindset.
Years after his Navy SEAL training and after running several ultra-distance races, Goggins discovered that he had a heart condition called atrial septal defect. Doctors were surprised that he was able to make it through Navy SEAL training and run multiple ultra-distance races. According to Goggins, this is proof that the hand you’re dealt doesn’t matter. His body wasn’t built to do what he did. The odds were stacked against him. He wasn’t born to be a Navy SEAL or run ultra races. But he did it anyway.
Whatever you do, do it right. Instead of doing things in a half-assed way, focus fully on what is in front of you. In “Can’t Hurt Me”, Goggins recommends we create an optimized schedule that allows us to work, exercise and rest. By doing one task at a time, and maximising each task, we can live better lives.
You might have heard the saying that we’re only as good as our last win. David Goggins believes this as well. It’s one thing to be great or excellent at one point in our lives. It’s a whole other thing to sustain greatness and excellence over a long period of time. As Goggins points out, it’s never over. Sustaining greatness long-term is only possible if we keep pushing ourselves and making an effort. Resting on your laurels? Not Goggins. And neither should you, according to him.
This is an interesting debate. In The Molecule of More, Mike Long and Daniel Z. Lieberman make the case for dopamine as the neurotransmitter that keeps us wanting more without ever giving us satisfaction. By focusing more on our “here and now” neurotransmitters, we can enjoy our wins, get more satisfaction out of life and provide a counterbalance to the relentless pursuit of more.
Just like many successful athletes, leaders and entrepreneurs, David Goggins views failure as a prerequisite for success. Instead of letting failure hold us back, he encourages us to analyse and learn from our failures.
The next time you go for a run or hit the gym, push 5%-10% beyond what you thought you were capable of. Used to running 10 miles? Go beyond that. Push just a little bit more than usual. Give a little bit extra every time to gradually expand your mental and physical limits.
Set small goals by writing them on a Post-It note. Post them on your mirror, or your laptop screen or somewhere where you can’t miss them. No matter how bad things are, you can pull yourself out of it by setting small goals. Never stop setting small goals and improving.
Can’t Hurt Me is a unique blend of autobiography, self-help book and action plan. Throughout the book, Goggins goes into great detail sharing his personal story. The book is vulnerable, yet inspirational. It documents the lowest lows a human being can reach, but always remains hopeful. This hope isn’t provided through abstract tips or generic self-help advice, but sourced from the stories the author tells and the lessons he draws from them.
The book is not completely without controversy, though. Where is the line between empowerment and self-harm? Is there a limit to how far human beings should push themselves? We don’t have all the answers, but the lines certainly appear to be blurry.
Goggins starts “Can’t Hurt Me” with a solo mission for the reader. The reason for the mission: We’re all living comfortable lives and are barely scraping the surface of our potential. The mission is to complete 10 challenges, each of which contains specific instructions and action steps. This focus on practical advice at the end of each chapter is something that we enjoyed.
Readers are encouraged to share their progress on social media. What makes this book interesting is the combination of all three. If you enjoy autobiographies and self-help, you’ll love this book. And if you’re the type of person who takes action, you’ll enjoy the 10 challenges you’re invited to take in the book.
This summary of Can’t Hurt Me is for anyone who feels bored and tired of complacency. If you’re looking for a new challenge, this summary is for you. If you love a good memoir and are looking for inspiration, read the book.
What does turning your life around look like? How about completing multiple notorious Navy SEAL Hell Weeks in a single year, becoming the first person in the U.S. Armed Forces to complete Army Ranger School, Air Force Tactical Air Controller training, and SEAL training, and to run over 70 long-distance races.