Have you ever been scared, like really scared – like so scared that you question who you are? So scared that you reflect on what you want to be? I grew up that scared – it took me a long time to admit that to myself. I was a scared little kid and I was never sure who I was. In fact, until I watched this video by David Goggins, I didn’t even have the mental framework to see it this way. You might just dismiss Goggins as a psychopath, a genetic freak, or just so different from you and me that his advice is useless – but I don’t think so.
He made me realize that, we are all scared, we are all unsure of ourselves, especially when we are suffering. And, from this suffering, comes growth, but only if you reflect. Reflection with discipline is even better – like a martial art. Goggins mentions that sometimes, when he is suffering bad, he thinks to himself, “Am I this guy? Am I tough enough? Am I just a scared kid?” He’s says that when this happens, he digs in his cookie jar – three hell weeks (Navy SEALS), Army Ranger school, air tactical training, 67 thousand pull-ups (yes, 67 thousand) to train for the 4030 in 24 hours record he set back in 2013 – an then he remembers who he is, yes, he is that tough, yes he can do it. A lot of cookies in the jar say yes…
Now, I don’t have a cookie jar anywhere close to his, you probably don’t either – but, we do have cookie jars, and we can dig deep – probably deeper than we are digging right now. The cookie jar doesn’t contain things that you wanted to do, it contains things that you did. They caused you to suffer and grow. That’s why I am undertaking a project to document my cookie jar. I’ve discussed and told stories of these cookies many times, especially with some of my best friends. But now, I want to organize and clarify my mind, so that when I have these conversations, they are crisp and useful for the people I discuss them with. I want to be a better friend, more motivational, and I want to become a better person myself.
The Cookie Jar
- Cookie: First Grade – Mason Elementary School – Leslie, You Stole My Lego Space Shuttle From the Science Fair
- Cookie: Fourth Grade – Sammy Had a Plan
- Cookie: Glaciers -Vallée Blanche, France – Snowboarding Taught Me That I Am Not a Nihilist