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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. David Goggins finds a way to blend autobiography, self-help, and inspiration in a way that is uniquely his own. Despite being full of machismo, bravado, and plenty of curse words, Can't Hurt Me also has an endearingly raw tenderness to it. There's no doubt that David Goggins is hard as fuck, but readers will note the growth in his self-awareness and empathy as his story progresses.
I have to admit that I picked this up on a lark after having seen it on the "librarian's choice" cart at my local library. I fully expected it to end up on a 'DNF' shelf, too, if I'm being completely honest. But Goggins' physical achievements had me riveted, his self-help wisdom, though hokey at times, impressed me, and his growth over the course of Can't Hurt Me left me inspired.
This is a book written by a certified badass, and one that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to others, if only just for Goggins' incredible (and sometimes disturbing) feats of willpower and athleticism.
I have to admit that I picked this up on a lark after having seen it on the "librarian's choice" cart at my local library. I fully expected it to end up on a 'DNF' shelf, too, if I'm being completely honest. But Goggins' physical achievements had me riveted, his self-help wisdom, though hokey at times, impressed me, and his growth over the course of Can't Hurt Me left me inspired.
This is a book written by a certified badass, and one that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to others, if only just for Goggins' incredible (and sometimes disturbing) feats of willpower and athleticism.
2.5 ⭐
This book is all about mental toughness and mastering pain. The author was brutally honest here with this book, talking about all his achievements and failures in detail. But from a future mental health professional's point of view, this person is in desperate need of therapy because pushing yourself to the limit of almost dying is pretty toxic.
It's true, we should push ourselves or else we will never know what we are capable of. But to a point where it breaks you? Where all you think about how you will never be good enough? That does not work for everyone and may cause depression and resentment towards yourself.
This book is all about mental toughness and mastering pain. The author was brutally honest here with this book, talking about all his achievements and failures in detail. But from a future mental health professional's point of view, this person is in desperate need of therapy because pushing yourself to the limit of almost dying is pretty toxic.
It's true, we should push ourselves or else we will never know what we are capable of. But to a point where it breaks you? Where all you think about how you will never be good enough? That does not work for everyone and may cause depression and resentment towards yourself.
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
I thought a lot about what rating to give this and landed on 3.5. It wasn’t that I didn’t find inspiration in this (in fact I ran my best interval run after finishing this) but it was just that a lot of it seemed a little preachy for reasons it wasn’t meant for. There is no doubt at all that Goggins has accomplished amazing things. No doubt the physical abuse he was at the hands of contributed to the pain threshold and endurance and how he pushes through however it feels he never quite works through his trauma. Bits where you could see humility shine through him were seriously so inspired.
I would say it’s important to cherry pick the advice you take from this - as running or doing any sport really with no training is silly to do and not helpful. I also don’t believe this was necessarily the take home message . The take home message for me which I loved was to callous your mind through challenges to show yourself you can push through pain, and that a soft tone isn’t always what’s helpful for you. I also liked that he says we often perform at 40% and could probably push for the 60% more (imp to do so without injury though) . Overall I liked it , it’s worth reading but also it’s important to understand which bits are relevant to take away for inspiration and which bits should be taken as the memoir of someone indisputably exceptional who has been through an incredible amount of trauma. I also love that he never gives up and I do have a level of respect for him.
I would say it’s important to cherry pick the advice you take from this - as running or doing any sport really with no training is silly to do and not helpful. I also don’t believe this was necessarily the take home message . The take home message for me which I loved was to callous your mind through challenges to show yourself you can push through pain, and that a soft tone isn’t always what’s helpful for you. I also liked that he says we often perform at 40% and could probably push for the 60% more (imp to do so without injury though) . Overall I liked it , it’s worth reading but also it’s important to understand which bits are relevant to take away for inspiration and which bits should be taken as the memoir of someone indisputably exceptional who has been through an incredible amount of trauma. I also love that he never gives up and I do have a level of respect for him.
The accomplishments of the author are incredible, and there are some great takeaways points. However, the absolutism and the short shrift given to the people who supported him (mostly his wives) made the accomplishments seem a bit empty.
The book was good and brought up so many memories, while at the same time had me hitting my face with my palm. It was really funny and raw, but it has a lot of curse words (so if you’re not a fan of that kind of language, stay away).
I could relate to young David Goggins, as he grew up in Indiana because of the prejudice he faced for being “the only” in class and school. When he becomes accountable for his actions, he talks about how he used his anger and hatred to FUEL himself to do better, be better, and achieve in his last year of high school so that he could go to the armed forces. A lot of that was so familiar because I was “the only” hard of hearing kid in school, and got bullied because of that. There are a few such examples or comments in the early part of his life that got me thinking about my own, and reminding me of how much I used to be like him, and what I did to do and be better (I certainly had no accountability mirror, but I did callous my mind).
The middle portion of the book, as he speaks about “Hell Week,” the US Navy Seals, the Delta Force, Army Ranger School and all the military stuff was funny, and kept me at the edge of my seat. I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen, and I loved learning about the armed forces, and what it takes to be a part of each one of them.
Then, he got to the point about running, and being an ultrarunner. That’s when the “facepalm” worthy moments came. He kept making the same errors over and over and over again, with every run. It’s like he couldn’t learn from his mistakes, and didn’t bother to do additional research to find out what it takes to do all of these races. He didn’t prepare himself at all. Every page of these portions of the book started to sound the same–a broken record–of the same mistakes. Instead of pacing himself with every race, he’d start out strong in first place, and then because he’d waste all of his energy on a burst of speed, he’d be so exhausted that he wouldn’t even come in the top three. You would think that after the first race that would have been in the After Action Report (“AAR” as he calls them) as a negative–especially when he saw the way the other runner easily passed him. Yet the next race, and the one after that, and the whole Delta Force description was the same thing. He’d start strong, lock in, and then lose out. He also always came so unprepared to some of these marathon and triathlons and running events. He began to come off as if he couldn’t be bothered to do research to get prepared and ensure his success, and that he thought that just because he had been a US Navy Seal and survived Hell Week, he could do anything.
It was at this point that I realized that he is egotistical, and just wants to power through no matter what the damage is to himself. He’s like an MMA fighter who has explosive power that wows people in the ring, but when that MMA fighter comes up against another one who is lithe, he or she fails because he or she is not fast enough. A brick can’t change direction in mid-flight no matter how hard the wind (not hurricane level) blows. Any amateur runner, or even someone who does any type of exercise that involves your legs knows that keeping a pace is the real deal and oh so absolutely necessary to finish strong. At this point, David’s arrogant attitude had begun to wear thin, and sound like just another excuse in his arsenal.
Aside from that, the book did motivate, and is a good read if you want to know one way to achieve you goals. It had plenty of good parts that reminded me of my roots.
For more, see https//www.girlwithredbackpack.com/2019/02/06/book-review-cant-hurt-me/
I could relate to young David Goggins, as he grew up in Indiana because of the prejudice he faced for being “the only” in class and school. When he becomes accountable for his actions, he talks about how he used his anger and hatred to FUEL himself to do better, be better, and achieve in his last year of high school so that he could go to the armed forces. A lot of that was so familiar because I was “the only” hard of hearing kid in school, and got bullied because of that. There are a few such examples or comments in the early part of his life that got me thinking about my own, and reminding me of how much I used to be like him, and what I did to do and be better (I certainly had no accountability mirror, but I did callous my mind).
The middle portion of the book, as he speaks about “Hell Week,” the US Navy Seals, the Delta Force, Army Ranger School and all the military stuff was funny, and kept me at the edge of my seat. I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen, and I loved learning about the armed forces, and what it takes to be a part of each one of them.
Then, he got to the point about running, and being an ultrarunner. That’s when the “facepalm” worthy moments came. He kept making the same errors over and over and over again, with every run. It’s like he couldn’t learn from his mistakes, and didn’t bother to do additional research to find out what it takes to do all of these races. He didn’t prepare himself at all. Every page of these portions of the book started to sound the same–a broken record–of the same mistakes. Instead of pacing himself with every race, he’d start out strong in first place, and then because he’d waste all of his energy on a burst of speed, he’d be so exhausted that he wouldn’t even come in the top three. You would think that after the first race that would have been in the After Action Report (“AAR” as he calls them) as a negative–especially when he saw the way the other runner easily passed him. Yet the next race, and the one after that, and the whole Delta Force description was the same thing. He’d start strong, lock in, and then lose out. He also always came so unprepared to some of these marathon and triathlons and running events. He began to come off as if he couldn’t be bothered to do research to get prepared and ensure his success, and that he thought that just because he had been a US Navy Seal and survived Hell Week, he could do anything.
It was at this point that I realized that he is egotistical, and just wants to power through no matter what the damage is to himself. He’s like an MMA fighter who has explosive power that wows people in the ring, but when that MMA fighter comes up against another one who is lithe, he or she fails because he or she is not fast enough. A brick can’t change direction in mid-flight no matter how hard the wind (not hurricane level) blows. Any amateur runner, or even someone who does any type of exercise that involves your legs knows that keeping a pace is the real deal and oh so absolutely necessary to finish strong. At this point, David’s arrogant attitude had begun to wear thin, and sound like just another excuse in his arsenal.
Aside from that, the book did motivate, and is a good read if you want to know one way to achieve you goals. It had plenty of good parts that reminded me of my roots.
For more, see https//www.girlwithredbackpack.com/2019/02/06/book-review-cant-hurt-me/
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
What a book! I though this was going to just be a good read, but David breaks downs multiples times how to get past the self-imposed barriers we put on ourselves. His challenges at the end of the chapters really give you the tools that you need to take off our governors and make ourselves the best versions of ourselves. His story is fascinating. I highly recommend this book, not only as a good read, but as a book that can really put you on the path to a better you.
challenging
inspiring
slow-paced