David Goggins is a man who knows how to deal with adversity and to constantly maintain motivation, previously calling out those who only do the “bare minimum.” But there could well come a time in your training journey that you will become injured. In this instance, how do you overcome and come back stronger?
Once again, David can speak from experience. In November 2021, Goggins posted a video to his Instagram showing edema on his leg. He finally elected to have surgery to fix it and, instead of taking the time off to rest, he switched up his usual running and cardio training for strength training. This not only helped him improve his strength, but it kept him in a good state mentally (plus, strength training can still help you lose fat).
Now, just yesterday (at the time of publishing) David Goggins shared another video on his Instagram account of him back outside running. Alongside the video, he added a caption claiming to overcome his leg injury was his toughest challenge yet…remember, he used to be a Navy SEAL, so it’s fair to say that his edema was no joke.
“This was probably the hardest rehab of my entire life. I truly didn’t think I would ever run again,” Goggins claimed.
But, while hitting the weights instead of the tarmac helped keep him sane and busy, just how did he come back from having some major surgery on his leg? His answer, become fuelled by the hate received.
“About halfway through my journey, I had a lot of bad days so I went onto social media and into the email account filled with countless comments and emails from the haters and read some of the worst s*** about me I have ever seen.”
“People hoping I would never run again, saying it was the result of my stupidity and that I deserved it and worse. I never thought I would discover so much gold.”
“I never waste these comments and emails. While I may block and delete your asses, I screenshot all of them and used them to make a Goggins remix, one of my new mental tactics. I read some of the worst s*** into a recorder to create my own playlist.”
Unless these comments of hate are well-buried within the comments section on the original video, there’s a good chance they’ve been deleted.
“I found what puts me to sleep like a baby is listening to all that s*** talking. It truly refreshes me. I have very vivid dreams about the anger you will feel when I am back out there doing what I do,” David continues.
“Well, today I felt so good that I woke up and ran an easy 8 and then went back out for another 15 miles with my girl.”
“Never waste that good hate out there! Archive it and put that s*** to good use!”
The takeaway? No matter how tough you may find a situation (it doesn’t even have to be an injury), there will always be a path to take to help you overcome it. You may need to think outside the box a little bit (apologies for the cliche) but giving up or giving in shouldn’t be an option.
Read Next