26th Mar, 2022
Jesse Itzler, the co-founder of Marquis Jet, talks about mental toughness in his book, ‘Living with a SEAL.’
While running a 100-mile race as part of a six-person relay team, Itzler met David Goggins, a Navy SEAL who was running the entire race by himself.
Running the race solo was a massive feat on its own–and then Itzler came to realize that Goggins was running despite a damaging set of circumstances. Not only did Goggins run the ultra-marathon with broken bones and while weighing over 200 pounds, but he did so while suffering from an endurance-limiting atrial septum defect caused by a hole in the wall of his heart.
After the race was over, Itzler hired Ironman triathlete David Goggins, world record holder for most pull-ups done in 24 hours and finisher of the 135-mile race in Death Valley (Goggins finished in fifth place) to live with him and his family in an effort to learn more about mental toughness.
While Goggins was living with Itzler, he taught him the “40 percent rule: When your mind is telling you you’re done, you’re really only 40 percent done.”
Itzler then explained how Goggins showed Itzler that he could actually do 100 pull-ups, despite nearly quitting after completing only eight.
The human body is capable of amazing physical deeds. Pain is not something you want to avoid all the time, because when we continuously subject ourselves to it, we only grow stronger. If we could just free ourselves from our perceived limitations and tap into our internal fire, the possibilities are endless.
Train your mind and your body will follow beyond imaginable limits to achieve the impossible.
You will do well to remember ‘The 40% rule’ which is a term used to explain that when your mind and body are starting to tire and you feel like giving up, you’re only at 40 percent of what you are truly capable of achieving. The 40% rule reminds us that no matter how exhausted we might feel, it is always possible to draw on an untapped reserve of energy, motivation, and drive that we all possess.
The reason why this happens is because our brain instinctively sets up boundaries and barriers to protect us from uncomfortable and harmful situations, whether this is by making us physically exhausted or pushing limiting beliefs to the front of our head, whereas when your mind is telling us that we are done, we are only forty percent done.
Our mind has a huge advantage over us. It knows our fears, it knows our insecurities and all of our self-doubts that have the ability to stop us in our tracks and make us give up. The only way that we can combat this is to build the mental toughness and fortitude to take back the control of our mind and ultimately, our life.
Look at it this way, most modern cars have a setting on them called a speed limiter, which is what the factories set to stop you from using your car at its highest speed, for your safety and the car’s longevity. Hence, you never get to experience the true power of your car.
As soon as you turn off this setting, your car might be under a little bit more stress but, you can unleash its full potential and achieve more with it, just like your brain.
Try overcoming the 40 percent rule in your own life, whether it’s during exercise, in relationships, or in business. Challenge yourself to dig deeper, and to ignore the mental limits and you will place yourself on the road to success.
This weekend, To make a new you, get in charge of your brain and strive to overcome your 40% barrier and stay blessed forever.