I recently read “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins, and here are the 10 challenges that stood out to me.
№1 List of Excuses
Write out a list of what is challenging you today. What problems and limitations do you encounter? What excuses are you making? Don’t hold back. Don’t be nice to yourself.
№2 Accountability Mirror
Write all your insecurities, dreams, and goals on Post-Its and put them on the mirror you look at every morning. You will use this accountability mirror to remind yourself of your mission each morning.
№3 Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
Write in your journal all of the things you don’t like to do and the things that make you feel uncomfortable. Do one of them every day.
№4 Taking Souls
Identify a competitive situation. Who are you competing against? Earn their respect with excellence. Work harder than you’ve ever worked before. Crush their standards. Take their negativity and use it to dominate their task with everything you’ve got.
№5 Visualize Your Goals
Choose any challenge, or set a new goal, and visualize achieving it. Imagine what this success will look and feel like. Also, visualize the obstacles you will encounter along the way. Incorporate visualization into your daily encounter with your accountability mirror.
№6 The Cookie Jar
Write down all of your life obstacles, including minor failures, that you turned into successes. Feel what it was like to overcome those struggles, those opponents, and win. Then get to work!
№7 Remove the Governor
Gradually increase your physical and/or mental exercise sets. You should push yourself slightly past your perceived maximum ability in order to slowly break through your self-imposed ceilings.
№8 Scheduling
Week 1: Take notes on your daily routines and habits. How often are you on your phone or watching TV? How long do you take to eat and commute to work?
Week 2: Build a schedule to optimize your time. Use 15-30 minute block intervals. When you work, only focus on one thing at a time.
№9 Be Uncommon Amongst Uncommon
Do whatever you have to do to stand out amongst the people around you. If the people around you are already the cream of the crop, do what you have to do to be #1.
№10 After Action Reports
Write out all of your failures. Note everything positive that came from your failures. Describe how you handled your failures. Go back through and make a list of the things you can fix. This is your After Action Report (AAR). Go to your calendar and schedule in time to give it another attempt, ASAP.