David Goggins
This weekend I decided I should try and catch up on some JRE episodes, and I wound up watching this one, with David Goggins.
His story is obviously incredible - a complete 'nobody' who turned his life wholly around to become an accomplished ultramarathon runner, one of the military's elite, and the world record holder for most pull-ups in 24 hours. He claims he isn't a genetic freak, he is simply someone who worked incredibly hard and was able to mentally push himself far past his perceived limit - in fact he coined the now-famous '40% rule', the idea that you believe you're 'done' when you're actually at about 40% of your maximum. He is certainly motivational, and anyone who watches the podcast will inevitably be inspired to go for a run immediately afterwards.
But... is there anything meaningful I can actually glean from this? If we assume our common goal is maximising our own happiness (using that word in a fairly broad context, to include content, fulfillment, self-worth etc), what can I apply from his story to mine? I don't think becoming an ultra runner is going to provide a good payoff in terms of effort to reward for me. Everyone around him had no expectations of him, and he was determined to prove them wrong, however I feel like people around me have high expectations of me, and I am terrified of not meeting them. Would achieving or even surpassing those expectations be that satisfying? I don't want to dedicate my time to someone else's goals.
Should I throw myself into working, pushing through the mental anguish of burnout and stress the same way he pushed through the pain of broken bones and internal bleeding? If I ascend to becoming a god-tier programmer one day, on Linus Torvalds' speed dial, would I look back and be proud of what I had accomplished in the same way that he is? Knowing that I did it, purely to prove to myself that I could? I'm not sure. Would I sacrifice other things in my life for this, that could potentially make me happy? How am I meant to prioritise? Can I still live a noble, worthy life by pursuing balance?
That's only really the start of the questions I have been asking myself in the wake of the podcast. Is his story nothing but inspiration porn? Is he perpetuating toxic masculinity? Because if so, then he is very convincing, and I am compelled to pursue mental and physical fortitude, to outdo my peers, to fight my demons alone and win.
I don't really know. I think if there is one thing I am going to take away from it, it's this: fuck my comfort zone. I need to leave it more often, and wander as far off into the horizon as I can.