3/23/23 Labyrinth – Backblast
Q: Thor
Participants: Gator, Unicycle, Cheap Seats, Slow Clap, Blades of Glory
Workout:
Ran the pre-run course (5k) with exercise stops at each of the first 2 miles.
• Mile 1
o 30 merkins
o 30 seal claps
o 30 flutter kicks
• Mile 2
o 30 werkins
o 30 sun gods
o 30 heels to heaven
COT
Context: this part below is from a letter written by David Goggins to a mentee on Brett Gleeson author of the book Embrace the Suck, that I’m currently reading. Gleeson asked him to write this letter to this young man because as he was about to enter the Navy Seal’s Hell Week when his mother passed away unexpectedly.
“Please tell him that my words will make no difference when his balls are in his stomach from being so cold. Men don’t get many chances to show their grit! You need to pray for bad weather! Pray for the coldest water! Pray for a broken fucking body!
You should want the worst-case scenario for everything you do in Hell Week! Pray for it to be so hard that only your fucking boat crew makes it all the way through! They succeed because you lead those motherfuckers through the worst Hell Week ever!
You have to become the devil to get through Hell! This shit is about your fucking mindset!”
HE GOES ON TO SAY…
“You might think this is a fucking motivational speech! Well it’s not! This is my mentality before I go into any fucking war. Hell Week is not for the faint of heart.
It’s for that motherfucker looking for the beginning of his soul. You want to see where most people end, and you begin. Be that guy; when everyone is in pain and miserable with their heads hanging low, you’re the one smiling! Not a friendly smile, but one that says, “You think this fucking shit can hurt me?!”
This is your time to start creating the person you want to be! You can’t make that man in a soft fucking environment! You must be willing to suffer more than anyone else! Not because you have to, but because you want to!
I leave you with this: many people are looking for hard shit so they can prove themselves, but once the hard shit comes, the reality is too much to bear.
Be watching for “the look”! You will know it once you see it. It’s like their soul is leaving their body. It happens during deep suffering, when a person can no longer handle the mental pain and anguish of what they thought they could do. The key word is “thought” they could do! After see the look, quitting is very near.
So, what the fuck are you going to do when your balls are in your stomach from the cold? What are you going to do when your body is broke as fuck and you have fifty hours left? What are you going to do when it won’t stop raining and you can’t get warm? I don’t know what you’re going to do. But you asked me for my advice, so here’s what the fuck I did: I prayed to God to make it worse! It all about your mindset!
Go to war with yourself!”
I wrapped it up with this to bring this letter to more relatable situations…
I know all this from Goggins letter relates a lot to facing physical pain and physical limits, but…
• It can ALSO be that hard conversation with a loved one…
• Because it’s much easier to ignore an issue than face it head on.
• It can be hearing that constructive criticism you ask for…
• Because it’s much easier to just fly under the radar and not get noticed.
• It can be talking in front of a group of people…
• Because it’s much easier to sit in the back and stay quiet.
• It can be choosing to be alone to feel your feelings &really process your emotions…
• Because it would be much easier to bury your emotions and run into the arms of the first person that shows you attention to fill that void with empty companionship.
• Or it can be putting yourself out there to date again…
• Because god knows that there is nothing about dating that is easy.
If any of you know any of the things, I’ve gone throughyou’ll pick up on why this mindset is so important to me personally. It got me through everything, and it WILL get me through anything.
So, I encourage you all to do the hard things, because (SO MANY TIMES) it really is only yourself and these self-imposed limitations that stands in the way. It’s all about how you frame your mind in every situation…
So, find those situations that scare you and face them head on, because it’s the overcoming that pain, struggle, fear…or those uncomfortable feelings, and nervousness that we grow the most from. So, that we can become the very best versions of ourselves that we can possibly be.
Thank you for listening!