I believe that if Nietzsche were alive today, he would view David Goggins as the personification of the Übermensch:
Someone who rejects mediocrity, which is the norm in today’s society
Someone who embraces struggle and suffering as a necessary part of their growth
Someone who rises above the circumstances and other limitations to create something extraordinary.
In this video, we’ll dive deep into the heart of his philosophy, which can help us develop unshakable resilience and gain mastery in anything we choose to pursue.
The Self-Reinforcing Belief
Dr. Curt Richter conducted a horrible but interesting experiment.
He placed rats in cylinders filled with water to see how long they could swim before giving up. Initially, the rats lasted between 2 to 15 minutes before succumbing to exhaustion and drowning.
In the next round of experiments, Richter makes a critical change. Just when the rats seemed to give up, he intervened.
He rescues them, dries them off, and allows them to recover.
Then, he returned them to the water.
This time, the rats swam much longer—some for as long as 60-80 hours.
Dr Richter concluded that the rats endured because they hoped someone would come and save them again.
But David sees it differently. He believes that hope is a soft and fleeting emotion. It cannot be the driving force behind swimming for 60-80 hours without food or rest.
There’s something deeper going on here. It’s a belief grounded in real experience. Their mind might be like, “I’ve been here before and survived, so I can endure this again.”
Instead of panicking, they become more strategic. They start to conserve energy by adopting more efficient swimming techniques and regulating their breathing.
Each passing minute reinforced their belief that they were going to survive.
The more time passed, the more confident they became because they had gathered even more proof that they could make it.
You know they were still alive, right?
That’s the power of belief rooted in resilience.
It’s when you go beyond the bullshit stories your mind is telling you; it’s going beyond the hope that someone is going to save you; it’s when you look at reality as it is that… This is it.
The situation really is fucked up, but as long as I keep going, I’m going to make it.
The more you push, the more proof you gather of your own strength, the more you cultivate your willingness to succeed, the more you broaden your concept of what you’re capable of, and the more successful you will become, the stronger the belief you’ll make it no matter what happens.
This is the self-reinforcing belief.
But when we face adversity, it’s easy to fall into the trap of doubt and fear.
And that’s when many people give in and…
Ring the Bell
During the Hell Week, the Navy SEALs go through 130 hours of non-stop physical and mental torment. You’re cold, wet, hungry, and in pain. If that isn’t enough, the instructors do everything they can to break your will.
One of their most devious tactics comes when you’re near the end of the week or close to actually making it.
That’s when the instructors shift their approach.
They stop shouting and calmly remind you of all the comforts waiting for you on the other side.
You can have warm food, dry clothes, and finally get some sleep. And all you have to do is… ring the bell.
At first, you’re like, “Hell no. I’ve come this far. I cannot give up now.”
But as the hours drag on, those images of comfort grow louder.
They start to pull at you like a siren song. And before you realize what’s happening, you find yourself standing in front of the bell, and you ring it.
You tell yourself it was the right choice and couldn’t have gone any other way. But then, as you step into that hot shower and finally feel warm for the first time in days, the reality sets in:
You’ve given up on your dream. You’ve given away a piece of your soul.
It will take a long time to regain the confidence to stand up and try again.
Because quitting leaves a scar in your mind that whispers to you every time life gets hard, “You’ve given up before. Why not do it again?”
That’s why, if you ever face the choice between the pain of perseverance and the pain of regret, always choose perseverance.
Failing is not the enemy because it’s part of the process. You fail, you adjust, and eventually figure it out.
But quitting haunts you for a long time. Trust me on this.
Now, to reduce the chances of failure, you need to be prepared to…
Win the Mental Battle
Whenever you attempt to do something challenging, doubt starts creeping in… Your mind automatically starts spinning these narratives that you’re not good enough or that you’ll hurt yourself.
Interestingly, these narratives will sell you the option of quitting as the most rational thing to do.
This is where many people lose the mental game. The inner voice doesn’t directly tell them to quit. Instead, it will often make seemingly reasonable suggestions:
If you fail right now, you’ll be disappointed and prove yourself a loser. It’s better to get everything ready and worked out, and then we can try to do this.
You need to recognize that these narratives are not protecting you. They are fear in disguise.
The quickest way to move forward in these moments is to focus on one small step you can take right now.
That’s it.
Focus on doing that small step as well as you possibly can. Then move to the next step and give it your full effort, and so on.
For example, you can focus on regulating your breathing, completing one more rep, or enduring for just one more minute.
The idea is to spend all of your energy on action, on reality, and not on those false worst-case scenarios
This is one example of how we unnecessarily limit ourselves. But the truth is that most limitations are not real. In fact, the mind often convinces you to stop when you’re only at 40% of your capacity.
What you need to do is push yourself just 5% or 10% further than you think you can. Then do it again. And again.
Every small victory builds momentum. It allows your body and mind to adapt and stretch the boundaries of what you believe is possible.
Remember that quitting on your dream stays with you for a long time; the opposite is also true. Each time you push past doubt, fear, and pain, you strengthen a skill you can use to face whatever comes next.
And this brings us to the next lesson…
The Golden Seconds
The golden seconds are those critical moments when the pain and the temptation to quit are overwhelming.
What separates exceptional people from everyone else is what they do in those moments.
They are able to maintain their composure and focus on the task at hand.
But how do you build that ability?
It starts with reminding yourself of the challenging situations you endured and how you succeeded.
It will be tough at first because your brain wants to convince you to stop so the pain can stop. But you insist that it is possible, and you go beyond that initial shock. That’s where you’ll find the necessary strength to endure.
In other words, you tap into that 60% of the potential you hold as a reserve.
It’s also helpful to ask yourself, “What happens if I quit now? What will it cost me later?
It can put things into perspective. That sure, this situation sucks, but it will be much worse if I give in right now. Plus, when you endure and succeed in the face of pain, you’ll feel exhilarated afterward.
So you have the negative incentive of avoiding regret and the positive incentive of feeling amazing and adding one more building block to your resilience.
Of course, thinking this way in the middle of a chaotic moment is not an easy task. That’s why you must be prepared.
You must mentally rehearse the obstacles you’re likely to face and how you’ll respond to them. Remind yourself of your previous victories, the long-term cost of quitting, and the rewards of enduring.
Now, you won’t have to face extreme challenges every day. But you must train yourself every single day.
You can exercise harder at the gym, study for a longer time, work on overcoming your addiction, confront a fear you’ve been avoiding, and so on.
Obviously, this is not about punishing yourself but conditioning your mind and body to thrive under pressure.
Because look, you’re operating in a world that is unpredictable and often ruthless.
You’ll undoubtedly encounter chaotic situations that could cause you to break and potentially change the course of your life for the worse.
But by creating a controlled micro-chaos, you’re more likely to adapt to any tough situation you’ll encounter without losing focus.
Now we will talk about something very difficult to do, but if you can do it, you’ll experience exponential growth.
Confronting Your Vulnerabilities
David had a lifelong fear of water. And he ignored it and saw no reason to confront it.
After high school, he pursued his dream job to become an Air Force Pararescueman.
These people are trained to go behind the enemy lines and rescue American or Allied forces in extreme danger.
David handled each challenge with confidence until it came to water evaluations. That’s when the fear got the best of him.
Every single day, he would be terrified of facing those exercises, and the pressure mounted until he was finally presented with the opportunity to quit.
And he took it without second-guessing.
That decision felt like a relief for a brief moment, but it quickly began to haunt him. He realized that he hadn’t quit because he was incapable; he quit because he hadn’t prepared mentally for the challenge.
After leaving the Air Force, David fell into a downward spiral. He gained a lot of weight and took a job as a nighttime exterminator—killing cockroaches in restaurants.
He describes this as the lowest point in his life.
It took him years to regain his strength and break free from the cycle of mediocrity.
Look, we all have weaknesses, and it’s tempting to bury them in our unconscious minds. The problem is that even if you set and forget them, they’ll still influence your behavior, leading you to make bad decisions.
And these weaknesses will resurface at the worst possible moment.
That’s why you must reflect consistently to discover these vulnerabilities, have the willingness to address them, and, most importantly, you must be careful that you don’t fall prey to the
Victim Mentality
At the age of 24, David is feeling numb and depressed but has been reflecting on his life.
It has been a miserable existence, and if he doesn’t change, he will end up a raging loser like his father.
He realizes that much of his self-doubt and pain stems from the abuse he suffered as a child, so he’s compelled to confront the devil himself and tell him that he’s the reason for his failures.
During the meeting, he sees a man who’s old and frail, which is the opposite of what he feared as a child. But still, as he revisits his home and the skating rink, the memories of abuse come flooding back.
His father is still a bully and a raging lunatic, but David comes to a critical realization… how weak and worthless you must feel to inflict so much suffering on the people closest to you.
David no longer hates him because he understands him and decides to close that chapter of his life.
Sure, the torment and abuse he experienced as a child have been a heavy anchor holding him down. And it’s not his fault for having a father like that, but it’s time to sever that connection.
You know, that’s when he stopped seeing himself as a victim and began seeing himself as a survivor capable of overcoming any obstacle.
By setting challenging goals like becoming a Navy SEAL and running ultramarathons, he created a sense of purpose that motivated him to endure the most harrowing moments.
As Victor Frankl explained,
“When we can no longer change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Everything can be taken from a man, but one thing: the last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances and to choose one’s own way.”
Look, it’s tempting to feel like a victim and surround yourself with others who share that mentality.
Of course, you might have legitimate reasons to feel like you do, but…
Every minute you spend feeling sorry for yourself is another minute not getting better.
It’s time to burn that past self and, like a Phoenix, rise from the ashes.
Now, the only way you can achieve that transformation is through…
Discipline
Discipline is the only thing that can alter your DNA.
This means that discipline can transform who you are at your core—your identity, mindset, and behavior.
In other words, even if you were raised in a toxic environment, made terrible choices, or feel trapped by self-imposed beliefs, you can still build a life of confidence and purpose.
The key lies in consistently putting yourself through uncomfortable situations.
But how can we do it?
Everything starts with accepting the situation as it is, without complaining that it sucks, without blaming other people. What has happened so far may or may not have been your fault, but it’s time to close that chapter of your life and move forward.
Next, you need to have a clear reason for doing this. Why do you want to make more money? Why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to graduate?
Sometimes, the answer is obvious. Sometimes, you’ll need to dig a little deeper. Like in movies, you want a compelling narrative of where you want to go and why it matters.
You must also be aware that going there is not cheap. It will require that you give your best and then some.
As we said earlier, when you’re in a tough situation, your mind will spin narratives to convince you to stop.
But when your personal narrative is stronger, you send a clear message to yourself: “Look, this is not a negotiation. I will do this.”
Eventually, you’ll reach a level where you’re constantly…
Taking Souls
It’s a mental strategy for when you’re about to crumble under pressure.
Instead of giving in, you reframe your doubts, pain, and exhaustion as opportunities to prove your resilience.
By doing so, you instantly shift the power dynamic to your advantage.
You stop being the victim of the situation and become the master of it.
Here are some examples of where you can apply this mindset:
When someone tries to discourage you, dig deep into your mind and use that energy to outperform them to such a degree that they’re left speechless or demoralized.
When competing with others and some of them are giving up, let that motivate you to push yourself harder because you’re tougher than them.
When people underestimate you, harness that negativity to work harder and smarter and achieve what they never could.
However, taking souls is not only about surpassing others. It’s also about proving that you can go beyond your perceived limits.
At the end of the day, it’s You Against Yourself.
It’s about being better than the person you were yesterday. It’s about uncovering what you’re really made of. It’s about inspiring the people around you by showing them what relentless effort looks like.
And most importantly, it’s about recognizing that your time is limited.
You don’t know when the clock will stop ticking, so you owe it to yourself to give everything and leave a lasting mark on this planet.
If you want to go deeper into understanding yourself and other people, check out my advanced course.
