By way of accident I ended up reading a book called Living with a SEAL. It’s about a guy who invited this super athlete to come and live with him for 30 days. The athlete agreed as long as the guy did whatever he said. So, it’s a funny story about uncomfortable training, but at its heart it’s really about laser like focus, purpose and self-discipline.
It turns out this athlete, ex-Navy Seal, is ultra-marathon runner David Goggins who has his own book coming out this year and is also known as The Hardest Man Alive. If you need an example of self-discipline you need not look any further.
The lessons contained in these two books apply directly to education. Learning requires self-discipline, online-learning requires even more. Without a coach or mentor standing over your shoulder, you must rely on your own will-power to continue to stay motivated and not give in to distraction from your focus whether it comes from outside or inside of you.
One thing I picked up from the first book was that motivation alone isn’t enough to accomplish a task. What is really necessary is your purpose for why you are doing it. Why are you studying – what is your goal? How much do you want it? By holding onto your purpose you’re more likely to finish your studies. So hold onto that bigger picture when life starts to get in the way!
You can read David’s take on purpose here:
6 Lessons from the Toughest Man Alive
The two books can be found here:
Living with Seal
Living with a SEAL: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet : Jessie Itzler
Can’t Hurt Me: David Goggins
