There couldn’t have been a better book for me to read at the end of 2023 than Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins. A former Navy Seal, Goggins' masterpiece truly set my mindset straight for the upcoming year. 

Throughout the pages, readers go through from David’s early childhood days that were a symbol of mystery and abuse to slowly finding a goal and purpose in sports and the army. These experiences help him go through the toughest week of his life in Navy training to finally become the person he is today: a marathon runner and a speaker who motivates youth to become better and discover their true potential. Among countless rare and reckless stories, there are some that became special for me personally. One that stood out most was the story about Goggins encouraging his crew in the Hell Week camp to start "throwing their boats" and doing the so-called “taking souls” trick on their military instructors. "Taking souls" pushes a person's mind and body to extremes, which accomplishes the impossible and in turn surprises the people around, therefore “taking their souls.” While other crews could barely keep the boats above their heads, David helped his crew to find inner courage and anger to start throwing the boat up and catching it, repeating it many times, screaming insults to the instructors. This left everyone around speechless and set a great tone for David’s team for future battles. I want to "take souls" just like that. 

My favorite lesson that Can’t Hurt Me teaches is the “40 percent rule.” It’s all about going above and beyond limits of the mind and body. David Goggins states that when our brain tells us that its maximum capacity is reached, it has actually only used about 40 percent of its powers. As an athlete, I know exactly what Goggins implies by saying that. For readers who don’t understand, he also provides memorable personal stories that prove that theory. For example, during an ultramarathon he ran, Goggins had to push the frontiers of his mind’s capabilities to keep going regardless of tiredness and broken bones. He takes over pain instead letting pain take over him. That theme is seen throughout the whole book where Goggins tries to encourage the reader to take control over their lives and chances instead of the other way around. 

Besides telling his unique life story and how he went from a 300-pound unmotivated loser to a shredded military beast with a mind harder than steel, Goggins also encourages readers to try various challenges themselves that will help to organize their life and set a purpose. My favorite one was the accountability mirror. After telling us how self-talk helped him to battle with such things as racism and obesity, Goggins inspires readers to stick post-it notes to their mirrors with their goals and fears which helps them to visualize their realities. I was so motivated that the moment I finished reading that chapter, I ran to my bathroom mirror to stick my first three post-it notes on. 

In conclusion, Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins is the definition of a book that makes you want to stand right then and there and do something to make your life better. I can truly see how this book is so popular among today’s teenagers and why it is available in every library. I had to wait three weeks for my book to come, but it was well worth the wait. Now I feel like obstacles can’t hurt me anymore.