Never Finished Summary & Infographic | David Goggins

Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within

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Introduction

Imagine breaking free from the shackles of your own mind and achieving the extraordinary. In his follow-up to Can’t Hurt Me, David Goggins dives deeper into the power of the human spirit.
Never Finished takes us inside Goggins’ “Mental Lab,” where he developed the philosophy, psychology, and strategies that helped him push beyond his perceived limits.

The book is a thorough analysis into the power of the mind. It provides us with an understanding of the mental and emotional strategies that Goggins used to overcome obstacles. 

After each chapter, you will find an Evolution. In the military, evolutions are drills, exercises, or practices meant to sharpen your skills. In Never Finished, they are hard truths you should face and philosophies and strategies you can use to overcome whatever is in your way and excel in life.

Never Finished is not a self-help book. It is boot camp for your brain. It’s a wake-up call you don’t want and probably didn’t even know you needed. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Joe Rogan have praised the book. The Rock labels Goggins “the undisputed gold standard” for mental toughness. Meanwhile, Rogan claims Goggins is “one of the most potent motivational drugs” on this beautiful planet. 

About David Goggins

David Goggins is a retired Navy SEAL, ultramarathon runner, and endurance athlete. He is a living embodiment of mental toughness and perseverance. Goggins overcame a challenging childhood marked by abuse, poverty, and discrimination to become a US Navy SEAL. He has set many records in endurance races. 

Goggins is known for his motivational speaking and writing, in which he emphasizes the importance of pushing oneself to the limit and overcoming mental and physical barriers. 

Goggins’ memoir “Can’t Hurt Me” has been a blockbuster success, and he continues to motivate millions through his public talks. His first book details his own journey from an overweight, self-doubting man to a world-class athlete.  

He is also known for his charity work and for being one of the few people to complete the “triple crown” of endurance events: Badwater 135, a 135-mile ultramarathon in Death Valley; the Leadville Trail 100, a 100-mile race through the Rocky Mountains; and the Western States 100, another 100-mile race.

StoryShot #1: Unlock the Power of Belief and Resilience

The power of belief and being resilient is key to overcoming challenges and triumphing over difficult situations. There are two levels of belief:

1. The surface level where you are told to “believe in yourself”

2. There is a deeper level of belief that comes from working through pain and fatigue 

You must cultivate a deeper level of belief within yourself – a belief that other people can not gift you.

Goggins mentions his own experiences with physical and emotional challenges and how he has used his own philosophy to overcome them. He believes that belief born in resilience can change everything and is the key to unlocking the untapped potential of the mind.

In 1950s, Dr. Curt Richter conducted experiments on rats. He placed rats in glass cylinders filled with water, curious to see how long they would swim before giving up. The rats didn’t last long. Next time, before the rats seemed ready to give up, he rescued them. He let them recover, and repeated this process a few times. They swam tirelessly, some for as long as 60 to 81 hours without food or rest.

The first group of rats had given up because of hopelessness, while the second group kept swimming because they hoped that they would be saved. But rats needed something stronger than hope to keep them swimming, right? 

Hope alone isn’t enough. Instead, it’s our powerful will to survive and belief in our abilities that help us overcome life’s challenges.

StoryShot #2: Learn from David Goggins’ Journey to Maximize his Minimum Potential

David Goggins was born into a difficult situation with a broken family, poverty, and exposure to racism and violence. He struggled in school and failed multiple attempts at the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, which is required for military recruits. Goggins even failed at fulfilling his dream of becoming a Pararescueman and ended up working as a low-paying exterminator. 

He had developed a numbness towards life, which caused him to give up on his goals whenever things got difficult. Goggins attributes this numbness to the trauma he experienced from his childhood. 

Goggins describes his own mindset as a “born loser” and how he had learned to lie, cheat and do whatever it takes to fit in. He was deeply depressed and saw himself unraveling, and knew that if he didn’t change soon, he would die a loser or worse. 

His father, Trunnis, was a bully and abuser. He wielded disrespect to dominate and control his family, particularly his mother and stepmother. He realizes that Trunnis was a sick and twisted man who never dealt with his own trauma and became an abuser himself. Goggins had grown up believing in his own delusions and not taking responsibility for his own shortcomings and failures.

Goggins had driven to Buffalo to confront his father. He hoped to find answers for his own struggles, but realized that he was looking for a way to blame his father for his own failures and was looking for a “cop-out”. He recognized he needed to take responsibility for his own life and make a change.

At 24, Goggins realized he had the power to shape his future. He could either stay in a comfortable, low-expectation life or embrace a world of possibilities, hard work, and resilience. This choice transformed him into an individual capable of overcoming extreme challenges.

Once Goggins broke free and embraced adversity, he became part of the rare group who strives for the highest level of self. This journey led to his honor at the VFW Convention. It shows that embracing resilience can change our lives for the better.

StoryShot #3: Face Your Pain and Overcome Distracting Injuries

David Goggins reflects on the concept of “distracting injuries” in both his work and his personal life. The term distracting injury refers to a serious injury that can cause emergency doctors to become fixated on it and forget about other important things.

In his own life, he has experienced trauma, which has caused him to become fixated on the past and neglect his own potential for growth and change. He realized that this mentality was holding him back from achieving his goal of becoming a SEAL. He needed to take extreme measures to shift his mindset and lose weight. 

Many people have their own “distracting injuries” that hold them back from achieving their goals and that it’s easy to get lost in the fog of life. We have to take responsibility for our own shortcomings and failures and to not let our past define us. Pain can be a powerful teacher, guiding us toward growth and self-improvement. Embracing pain, rather than avoiding it, can lead to personal transformation.

Facing your pain is crucial; avoiding it only builds trauma. Life is full of challenges, but they don’t define our worth or potential for success.

Embrace your challenges and learn from them. Don’t waste any emotion; use them to fuel your growth. To truly understand your struggles, write, speak, or record them. By doing so, they become real and, eventually, manageable.

Try this for a week: whenever negative thoughts arise, record a voice message expressing your feelings. Listen to it daily to uncover hidden truths in your life. Then, record a second message every day, motivating someone with the same issue, as if you’re speaking to a friend and explain why things will be fantastic. This practice will help you see the power within yourself and inspire others.

StoryShot #4: Discipline or Talent; Which One Is More Important?

Discipline can help make you more accountable and resilient. Learn how to develop strong habits, stay committed to your goals, and resist the temptation to take shortcuts. 

Goggins uses the example of soldiers to show the power of discipline in achieving goals and completing tasks. Discipline is not something that is exclusive to the military. Anyone can cultivate it through self-motivation and initiative. 

Discipline is doing things to the best of your abilities. It’s also about having the drive to start and finish a task, even when no one is watching or checking your work. With such dedication, you don’t need external surveillance or supervision. By committing to doing even small, overlooked tasks, you can develop a sense of pride and self-respect. 

Discipline is more important than talent or other advantages. It can help you overcome obstacles and challenges, such as a lack of talent, difficult upbringing, or learning disabilities. 

Discipline allows you to focus on effort and work and less on enjoyment. This will build mental endurance and increase your capacity for work. Discipline is the great equalizer. It cuts through all the noise and strife. It doesn’t matter where you are from or who you are, if you are disciplined, nothing can stop you.

Rating

We rate Never Finished 4.4/5. How would you rate David Goggins’ book based on our summary?

Editor’s Note

This piece was first published on 4 Jan 2023. It was revised on 22 April 2023.

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