Go All In

I mentioned a short time ago (maybe on social media) that I was rereading David Goggins’s latest book, Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within. It often happens, when I read a book, that more things jump out that I ‘missed’ during the first read-through. One thing I’ve noticed is that there is an ebb and flow to life, and there is that same oscillation as I pursue my goals. There are times when it feels easy: no resistance, no procrastination, no self-doubt. I am, simply, all in.

Other times…

It’s hard to get started in the day. Or I’m not sure exactly what the day’s focus should be, so I bounce around from one task to the other. And, consequently, it takes longer to finish anything. And when I’m ‘spinning,’ that’s when the self-doubt creeps in. It’s easy, too, in that moment, to lose sight of my why and what I’m working to achieve. But I also know that the best way to get back on track is to show up to write and not chase down the perfect words, or get out for a run and not worry about how hard it feels.

Are You Hungry?

When you have a big goal, you’ve got to be hungry to achieve it. Whenever I hear that reference, I think about Les Brown. But Goggins’s also writes about that hunger in a brutally honest way:

If you want to maximize minimal potential and become great in any field, you must embrace your savage side and become imbalanced, at least for a period of time. […] There are no days off, and there is no downtime when you are obsessed with being great. That is what it takes to be the baddest motherfucker ever at what you do.¹

When I’m honest with myself, I have that hunger but it’s never been as fierce as Goggins or Les Brown. Because I’ve always had a safety net: a day job. And for a long time, I’ve let—even though I knew better—self-doubt, fear, and the opinion of others hold me back. I’ve often played small to keep the peace.

But isn’t it time to stop holding myself back? To go all in?

Getting Started (Again)

I’ve got to be honest… When I think about what it means for me to embrace my savage side, that fear creeps back in.  I think about all the ways my life, for a period of time, will change. And the question that comes up over and over is, “Can I do it?”

But then again, what’s stopping me? What’s the worst that can happen? Then I have to flip the whole situation on its head and ask, “What’s the worst that can happen if I don’t?”

The answer: Nothing changes. I remain caught working for someone else, giving more time to the fulfillment of their dreams than my own. I take longer to get where I want to be. I might sleep less (but how is that different from now?).

Go All In

Last week, I slowly propped open the door to my savage side. I stopped talking about going to the gym and went (it’s right in my building). Struggling to get in my runs before work, I started running after I got home (at 1:00 am). What is, then, really hard is not going back to bed for a morning nap. So, I decided to add an extra cup of java to my morning routine. Hopefully, that helps.

Until I did the calculations, I didn’t realize the cost of those morning naps. Those 1.5 hour-naps on the days I work total 7.5 hours. Most of the time, I just lay in bed. Now, that’s 30 hours a month, or 360 hours a year. And he’s the scary part, approximately 15 days a year. What would you do with fifteen ‘extra’ days?

So, I’m going all in. Because, as Carol Burnett said, “Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.”

1. Goggins, D. (2022). Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within, Lioncrest Publishing, p. 111. [↩]