What am I Running TOWARDS?

As a cultural figure David Goggins is fascinating, charismatic, and challenging. If you are not familiar with him, you should be. Goggins is a former Air Force pararescue jumper, former Navy Seal, former pull-up world record holder, author, and smoke jumper. He confronts life with a dynamic, action-oriented, and unapologetic approach that demands his best every day. His story is compelling, difficult, and as extreme as his personality and achievements.

To run thousands of miles each year, drop F-bombs in most of his sentences, and never offer a single sympathetic word to anyone who may be listening is definitely extreme. But it seems to be the natural outpouring of his character and the lessons he has learned and now embodies. A common critique of Goggins is that he must surely be running from something in order to live his life the way he does. But what if he’s not? What if he is running towards something instead? What if he is running towards a vision of himself that only he can see?

Goggins states, and I have no reason to disbelieve him, that every day of his life is a battle; that the thing he does more of than anything else in life, running, is also the thing that he hates the most. On the surface this is madness. Why would anyone dedicate thousands of hours a year to doing something that they hate? The simple answer, according to Goggins, is that it makes him stronger.

During a recent interview on the Modern Wisdom podcast, Goggins states that his life is “All stick, no carrot.” He suggests that it is only by intentionally confronting those most difficult and frightening aspects of life that he has developed the confidence and sense of purpose that allows him to live a life he feels no need to justify or apologize for. That seems like something well worth running towards to me!

This raises the question: What I am running towards? What is my vision for the future? To what purpose am I committing myself? Family? Work? Money? Love? Distraction? Pleasure? Education? Friendship?

It is my experience that only in service to something greater than myself am I able to feel real satisfaction each day. When I squander my time in fleeting efforts at self-gratification I find I have a growing sense of loss. The loss of the time I could have invested rather than spent. The loss of opportunities to connect with those who are most important in my life. The disconnection with the moment I’m in, which has slipped through my fingers, never to return.

Terminology is important because it points towards a deeper understanding of my priorities. When I spend my day playing video games or watching movies it brings a certain level of relaxation that can be much needed, assuming I’ve been working enough to earn the rest. But when I invest my time in people, relationships, education, artistic pursuits, and spiritual development, that is when I feel truly satisfied with life and connected to the deepest part of myself.

Regardless of how you feel about David Goggins, his personality and use of language, there is definitely something we can all learn from the man. What are you running towards?