What David Goggins Taught Me About Writing

David Goggins may be a New York Times Best Seller, but it’s not how he writes that has improved my writing, it’s the way he lives.

He’s a former U.S. Navy SEAL, an ultramarathon runner, ultra-distance cyclist, triathlete, public speaker, author of two memoirs, and an International Sports Hall of Famer. In short, Goggins is verifiable bad-ass who knows how to get hard shit done. And since writing can be really hard, I’ve applied some of his principles to improve my practice. I’ve found that a little harsh language and hardcore expectations is exactly what I often need. If you think you could use some of that too, then leave your inner sissy on the couch and let’s get after it.

To Be Writer, Be Warrior

“The Pen is mightier than the sword,” indeed, but we must acknowledge that a sword is only useful in the hands of a warrior.

This does not mean that your words should be fighting words, but rather, that you must be a fighter in spirit and in habit.

In his book, Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds, Goggins reminds us of Heraclitus, a philosopher born in the Persian Empire back in the fifth century BC, who wrote about men on the battlefield.

“Out of every one hundred men,” he wrote, “ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior…”

That holds just as true for the literary arena.

“A warrior,” Goggins says, “is a someone that goes ‘I’m here again today. I’ll be here again tomorrow and the next day.’ It’s a person who puts no limit on what’s possible.”

Goggins reminds me that a warrior is someone who knows what they want, who knows what it takes to get what they want, who’s willing to do whatever it takes, and who proves that every single day through action.

Goggins also says, “Most wars are won or lost in our own heads.”

Which brings us to the second point…

Master the Mind Game

“This life is all a f*ckng mind game. Realize that. Own it!”

Goggins reminds me that writer’s block is only as real as I want it to be…

• only as real as I am scared,
• only as real as my unwillingness to waste a thousand words for one good sentence,
• only as real as I believe that I must be great to be good,
• only as real as what I’m too scared to put on the page,
• only as real as my belief that it’s too big for my skill,
• only as real as my belief that I am unqualified or an imposter.

“The most important conversations you’ll ever have are the ones you’ll have with yourself. You wake up with them, you walk around with them, you go to bed with them, and eventually you act on them. Whether they be good or bad. We are all our own worst haters and doubters because self doubt is a natural reaction to any bold attempt to change your life for the better. You can’t stop it from blooming in your brain, but you can neutralize it, and all the other external chatter by asking, What if?”

Don’t Be Lazy

Goggins says, “Success is based off of your willingness to work your ass off no matter what obstacles are in your way.”

He reminds me that I am where I am (in life) because that is exactly where I choose to be and if I really want to be somewhere else, I will do what’s necessary, or I should otherwise just shut the f*ck up.

He reminds me that when I think that I am done, I’m only 40% into what I am capable of doing — that my usual stopping point is just a limit that I put on myself.

He reminds me to push hardest when I want to quit the most because it helps strengthen and callous my mind.

“It’s the same reason why you have to do your best work when you are the least motivated,” he says.

Goggins shows that I can brainwash myself into craving discomfort, which helps to change my mind about how I frame it when I feel it.

“If it was raining, I would go run,” he says. “Whenever it started snowing, my mind would say, ‘Get your f*cking running shoes on.’”

“I don’t stop when I’m tired. I stop when I’m done”

Embrace the Suck

Not all pain leads to growth, but all growth is on the other side of pain.

“It’s a lot more than mind over matter,” Goggins says. “It takes relentless self discipline to schedule suffering into your day, every day.”

If you’re serious at all about writing, then you know by now that it’s not all rainbows and unicorns. Writing is tough business — it can stress one out and test one’s commitment as much as any hard physical labor.

Goggins reminds me to push the boundaries of my comfort zone — maybe sometimes even take a chance and jump way the f*ck out of it just to see what happens.

“If you’re in one too long,” Goggins says of comfort zones, “that becomes your norm. Get comfortable being uncomfortable.””

Be Uncommon Amongst the Uncommon

Goggins says, “You want to be uncommon amongst uncommon people. Period.”

Good writers are uncommon, he reminds me. Great writers are even more uncommon.

If I am neither, well… I am reminded to look at how far I’ve got to go and get busy getting there. I take my favorite best-selling author of all time and put my sights in front of him, then I shut the f*ck up, put down my damned phone, put my ass in the chair, put my lazy little fingers on the keyboard and move them! This is what Goggins reminds me to do.

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When I am not writing, when I say, “I just don’t have the time,” or “I’m too tired,” or “too blocked,” I am, as Goggins says, “just giving up instead of getting hard.”

“Tell the truth about the real reasons for your limitations and you will turn that negativity, which is real, into jet fuel. Those odds stacked against you will become a damn runway!”

All of this can be wrapped up and said in short, which Goggins often does when he says:

“STAY HARD!!!”