What Would You Do if You Had Goggins-Level Discipline?

My first exposure to David Goggins came from his initial appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast. My immediate reaction was: "WTF, is this guy for real?" He's endured three Hell Weeks, completed countless ultra-marathons, set the record for the most pull-ups, and still wants more.

After listening to him, I purchased his book for my antilibrary, and promptly stopped paying attention. I shifted my attention away because focusing on his words for too long became uncomfortable. Recently, I've felt an urge to revisit him as I've been reflecting on discipline, which led me to listen to his latest appearance on Andrew Huberman's podcast.

Listening to David Goggins offers a unique mix of sensations. Firstly, there's a sense of awe at his discipline. I am inspired by how he completely turned his life around—from someone who experienced abuse, poverty, racism, a learning disability, and low self-esteem to becoming the hardest man on the planet. Then, a critical disposition towards him emerges, which goes something like this:

"This guy is not a [happy, individuated, whole, etc.] person. He is someone who forwent therapeutic healing and somehow leveraged his demons to engage in freakish levels of discipline. I do not want this."

These critical thoughts are quickly squashed because Goggins' demons hear my criticism and forcefully present the following counterargument:

"Don't be a little bitch. You know you are not living up to your potential because your pussy ass is addicted to comfort—waking up enjoying your little espresso and writing cute words. I am just telling you the truth motherfucker. Do you want to be a pathetic loser your whole life, or do you want to embrace the suck that your potential requires?"

Fuckkk. At this point, a sense of masculine-themed shame creeps in for not being hard enough, which compels me to shift my focus away from Goggins and toward more comforting affairs. However, I will not look away this time. I believe God placed Goggins on Earth not to inspire us to mimic his feats or his psychological methods of summoning demons for motivation. Instead, it's to show us that we are capable of greater discipline than we can currently imagine and that we neglect our potential by avoiding discomfort.

In the interview, Huberman brought up the "anterior mid-cingulate cortex," or the "tenacious brain," an area of the brain that grows larger when people engage in activities they do not want to do, such as an intense workout or resisting something pleasurable. It tends to be smaller in obese individuals and larger in athletes. Neuroscientists are beginning to view the anterior mid-cingulate cortex as the area associated with the will to live. My main takeaway from hearing this: love the stick more than the carrot.

This disposition is essential to accomplish challenging feats; stick-loving is the heart of discipline. I value clarity in definitions, and I like the one for discipline found on Wikipedia: "The ability to do what is necessary despite it being unpleasant." I find it helpful to contrast discipline with courage, which I previously defined as "moving toward the good in the presence of fear." While courage requires the presence of fear, discipline requires the presence of unpleasantries.

These definitions align with my experience. Before starting an intense workout that I'm not inclined to do, I don't feel fear, which would necessitate the application of courage. Instead, I experience a tense-up, accompanied by a little voice telling me to do something more comfortable. This voice has a quick and squeaky quality to it, or to use Goggins' wording, it sounds like a little bitch.

Similar to all values, I divide discipline into wise and foolish expressions. Discipline can be applied to noble pursuits, but it can also lead to unnecessary masochism directed towards activities that are harmful to oneself and others. This premise raises the question: is Goggins' expression of discipline wise or foolish?

I'll share three criticisms arguing for the latter from the perspectives of a therapist, a leftist, and an epicurean:

The therapist criticism: Goggins' anti-therapy advice is fundamentally mistaken and harmful. Instead of running away from his “demons,” which he uses as fuel to engage in potentially self-destructive activities, he should engage in proper cognitive and somatic interventions. By doing so, he would become a whole person, better oriented towards relational and communal activities, and still be capable of applying his discipline in healthy ways when appropriate.

The leftist criticism: Goggins falls prey to the predatory nature of capitalism. While he may believe “discipline equals freedom,” as his fellow Navy Seal advises, he actually promotes a form of bondage with this mindset. Capitalism advocates discipline-induced “freedom” merely to increase our productivity, turning us into tools for sustaining the capitalist system of exploitation. In essence, he and his disciples become useful idiots of capital, supporting the status quo and hindering communal solidarity and collective emancipation.

The epicurean criticism: Goggins fails to see the complete picture of what constitutes the good life. Indeed, discipline is a positive trait, but it should serve the pursuit of genuine pleasure. True happiness arises from the absence of pain ("aponia") and mental distress ("ataraxia"), not from using the latter to endure more of the former. Pleasure, moderately enjoyed, is the critical ingredient for happiness. To deny oneself of such happiness is to deny oneself and others the good life.

Goggins has one response to all three critics:

“Y'all being a bunch of bitches. Sure, you got your fancy therapies and theories, but can you motherfuckers look me in the eye and actually tell me you are living up to your potential and doing everything you can do to be the best you can be?! No, motherfuckers, you can’t. Your pussy ass criticisms are just elaborate excuses to avoid doing what you know you need to do.”

While I recognize the validity of the above criticisms, Goggins is ultimately right. If truthful with themselves, most people would respond negatively to his question about living to one's full potential. The negative response is often due to not loving the stick over the carrot. Given this, criticizing Goggins, despite any sloppiness in his reasoning, becomes impossible without appearing like the bitch he frequently gestures toward. His actions guard his premises.

Sure, he is still a fool, but we all are. In my taxonomy of fools, I divide them into negative and positive fools. A negative fool, like the "hustle narcissist" mentioned in the previous entry, may have some wisdom to offer but ultimately serve as an example of how not to be in the world. In contrast, a positive fool is so extreme in their foolishness that they provide a shining example of what is less foolish to do. Goggins is such a fool.

The hustle narcissists all vie to have Goggins on their podcast so they can worship him like a deity. This worship is a mistake. His advice on discipline should not be blindly followed, nor should his disciplined feats be copied. Instead, the core of his message should be deeply honored: we all need to do things we do not want to do to have the life we are deeply called to live.

As some describe, we're facing a "comfort crisis," where numerous individuals succumb to the lure of fast food and viral entertainment. We're just an iPhone tap away from a quick hit for a quick fix. Greater consciousness and intentionality are needed more than ever to avoid diminishing into a subpar state of human becoming. To avoid this fate, I’ll present a question to live with:

What would you do if you had Goggins-level discipline?

This question, similar to the "fuck you happiness" question, attempts to tease out the areas of life where something is absent, preventing life from unfolding beautifully. For most people, having greater discipline won't mean doing three Hell Weeks, running ultramarathons, or attempting to become the hardest man on the planet. It would be something bespoke to one's situation, such as:

• Working out when scheduled,

• Putting good food in one's body,

• Avoid putting bad food in one's body,

• Unscreening, 

• Meditating or praying consistently,

• Cultivating the proper balance between hard work and deep leisure.

As Goggins says, we already know what we need to do; we just have to find the voice that allows us to be the bad motherfucker that does it.

The month-long Limicon 2024 starts today. I will be hosting an event on March 21st (The Stoa’s birthday) called “The Living Question.” This event is an experimental collective inquiry designed to foster a state of collective aporia. You can RSVP for the event by either purchasing a ticket to Limicon or becoming a member of Less Foolish. The RSVP link is behind a paywall.