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How to Build Immense Inner Strength | David Goggins

Episode 157 Jan 1, 2024 2h 33m 17 insights
In this episode, my guest is David Goggins, retired Navy SEAL, highly accomplished ultramarathoner, best-selling author, and influential public speaker. David explains how he mastered his inner dialogue to build extraordinary levels of discipline and mental and physical toughness. He describes how confronting his early hardships, including physical and mental abuse, learning disorders, and obesity, became a practice of deep and excruciating self-reflection — eventually allowing him to transmute those experiences into a superhuman work ethic. This conversation is a unique window into David Goggins’ process in that it focuses both on the underlying science and how David manages and directs his inner dialogue. It’s a conversation that will inform and inspire anyone wondering how exactly to go about building discipline and confidence and reach their potential. Note: This conversation includes profanity. Some content might not be suitable for all audiences and ages. For show notes, including referenced articles and additional resources, please visit hubermanlab.com. Use Ask Huberman Lab, our new AI-powered platform, for a summary, clips, and insights from this episode.
Actionable Insights

1. Embrace the Suck for Growth

Actively seek out and endure difficult, uncomfortable situations (the ‘suck’) as the primary path to personal growth and deep self-knowledge, rather than avoiding them.

2. Cultivate Internal Dialogue

Engage in deep, honest introspection to understand and manage all your inner voices, including self-doubt and fears, using this internal conversation to drive action rather than inaction.

3. Build Perishable Willpower Daily

Deliberately choose and consistently engage in activities you don’t want to do to build mental resilience and willpower, recognizing this is a perishable skill requiring continuous upkeep.

4. Practice Radical Honesty

Be brutally honest with yourself and others about your true identity, needs, and demanding lifestyle upfront, even if it’s uncomfortable, to foster genuine relationships and self-integrity.

5. Reject External Motivation

Cultivate self-reliance and internal drive by doing hard work independently, without needing external validation or relying on ’life hacks,’ as true motivation comes from within.

6. Confront Your Inner Cupboards

Access your unconscious mind through daily, rigorous self-examination (‘spring cleaning’ the ‘cupboards’), starting with your deepest fears and insecurities, to uncover and address buried truths.

7. Learn to Fail Properly

Anticipate and mentally prepare for failures, then process them thoroughly without dwelling, as understanding and overcoming setbacks is a necessary precursor to victory.

8. Define Your Unique Path

Engage in deep self-questioning to uncover your authentic self and purpose, rather than conforming to external expectations, to reveal a clear and individualized path of necessary actions.

9. Prioritize ‘Just Doing’

Overcome procrastination and the wait for motivation by focusing on immediate action (‘just doing’), especially when facing overwhelming challenges, as consistent action builds momentum.

10. Cap External Success

Deliberately limit financial or external success to ensure continued engagement in foundational, challenging activities that maintain willpower and self-identity, preventing complacency.

11. Relentless Repetitive Learning

For difficult subjects, use handwriting and repetition to achieve photographic memory, learning the bulk first, then dissecting small details like pronunciation and dosage.

12. Focus on Optimizing a Broken Body

If physically limited, focus on how to get the best performance out of your current physical state, rather than being deterred by injuries or imperfections.

13. Total Focus on Current Task

Practice complete concentration on whatever you are doing at that moment, avoiding multitasking to maximize effectiveness and mental training.

14. Visualize Notes for Recall

When studying, write notes in a way that allows you to mentally ‘flip through pages’ and visualize the information during tests for better recall.

15. Create Aspirational False Reality

If at rock bottom, create a powerful, aspirational ‘false reality’ or future self to serve as a strong internal motivator for initial action and self-improvement.

16. Hydrate with Electrolyte Mix

Drink 16-32 ounces of an electrolyte mix (like Element) first thing in the morning and during physical exercise to ensure proper hydration and optimal brain/body function.

17. Use Meditation for Energy

Utilize meditation apps for various types of meditation, including Yoga Nidra or NSDR, to restore cognitive and physical energy, even with short 10-minute sessions.