Can't Hurt Me Exercises: 21 Discussion Questions

David Goggins grew up in a hard home, struggled in school, and weighed close to 300 pounds as an adult. He then became a Navy SEAL, an ultra endurance runner, and a record holder for pull ups. His memoir Can't Hurt Me shows how he got there, and it does not sugarcoat any of it.

These questions push you the way Goggins pushes. Answer them honestly, and write your answers down.

Can't Hurt Me Exercises

Goggins builds his message around a few ideas. He calls the accountability mirror a daily habit of facing the truth about yourself. He talks about a callused mind, which grows when you choose hard things on purpose. He also says most people quit at about 40 percent of what they can do.

We wrote seven exercises with 21 discussion questions.

Exercise 1. The accountability mirror

Goggins wrote his goals and hard truths on sticky notes and stuck them on his bathroom mirror.

1. What is one honest thing you avoid saying to yourself?
2. What goal would you write on your own mirror?
3. Try it for a week. What do you think will be hardest about looking at it every morning?

Exercise 2. Own your starting point

Goggins does not skip his past. He uses it as fuel.

1. What in your past do you tend to hide or explain away?
2. How could you use that part of your story as motivation instead of an excuse?
3. Where do you catch yourself acting like a victim? What would it look like to take control instead?

Exercise 3. The 40 percent rule

The book claims that when your mind says you are done, you have only used a fraction of your ability.

1. Describe a time you wanted to stop but kept going. What did you find on the other side?
2. Describe a time you quit early. What would you do differently now?
3. Pick one task this week and go past the point where you normally stop. What is it?

Exercise 4. Build a callused mind

Goggins says you grow by doing what you do not want to do.

1. What is one small daily task you avoid because it is uncomfortable?
2. How could you do it for 30 days in a row?
3. What would change about how you see yourself if you did?

Exercise 5. Fill your cookie jar

Goggins keeps a mental jar of past wins. He reaches into it when times get rough.

1. List three things you finished that once felt impossible.
2. What did you do in those moments that you can repeat?
3. How could you use that list the next time you want to quit?

Exercise 6. Cut the excuses

The book has little patience for excuses, including the ones that sound reasonable.

1. What excuse do you use most often?
2. Who might see through that excuse right away?
3. Does anything about that excuse hold up when you look at it honestly?

Exercise 7. Take the challenge

Goggins ends chapters with challenges for the reader. Try one of your own.

1. Design a challenge for yourself that scares you a little. What is it?
2. Who will you tell so you cannot back out?
3. What will you do the day after you finish it?

Ideas worth remembering

Goggins does not treat his story as a fairy tale. He describes a painful childhood, poor grades, and a body that carried close to 300 pounds when he decided to change. He dropped more than 100 pounds in about three months to qualify for SEAL training, and it took him three tries to get through it. Later he ran ultramarathons and set a pull up record.

He offers tools rather than slogans. The accountability mirror asks you to face the truth. The cookie jar reminds you of past wins. He also describes taking souls, which means giving so much effort that others around you rethink their own limits.

Where readers get stuck

The tone is intense, and some readers feel it is too much. You do not need to adopt his extremes to use his ideas. A smaller version of the same habit still builds the same muscle, whether that is a single cold shower or a walk after a long day.

Please treat the physical side with care. The book is about mental toughness, not ignoring injuries. Talk to a doctor before you take on a big physical challenge, especially if you have not trained in a while.

How to use these questions

Write your answers down, since the accountability mirror only works when the truth is on paper. A notebook by your bed is enough.

Pick one challenge from Exercise 7 and set a start date this week. Tell one person the date. Then check in with them when you finish, or when you feel like quitting.

In a group, share your answer to the cookie jar exercise. Hearing what other people have already survived can help everyone see their own limits differently.

Putting it into practice

Choose your challenge and write it on a sticky note. Put the note where you will see it every morning. Set a start date within seven days, so the plan does not turn into another someday.

Break the challenge into small daily steps. If you plan a long run, start with a short one. If you plan a new skill, put in 20 minutes a day. The point is to build the habit of finishing things that feel hard.

When you finish, add the win to your cookie jar. Next time doubt shows up, you will have another piece of proof that you can do more than you think.

Read the full summary

Want the main lessons in a fast read? Check out the Can't Hurt Me summary on Sumizeit before you dive into the questions above.

Ready for more books like this? Upgrade your plan to unlock every book on Sumizeit.