80 David Goggins Quotes (On Discipline, Suffering, Success)

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.

Top 10 Quotes – Discipline – Suffering – Success – More Quotes – Takeaways – Visual – Video – Further Readings

david goggins quotes wisdom

Want more mental toughness?

You’re at the right place.

I’ve collected 80 of the best David Goggins quotes on this page.

This former Navy SEAL will teach you more about motivation, discipline, and inner strength than any motivational speaker I know.

So if you want to

Achieve mental mastery
Overcome self-doubt
And achieve greatness

Read the following quotes and learn more about David Goggins.

This will help you unlock your true potential.

Let’s begin!

Top 10 David Goggins Quotes

The number one purpose in life, is to better oneself. David Goggins (Source)

We all have the ability to come from nothing to something. David Goggins

Suffering is a test. That’s all it is. Suffering is the true test of life. David Goggins

The most important conversations you’ll ever have are the ones you’ll have with yourself. David Goggins

We’re either getting better or we’re getting worse. David Goggins

Go home. Shut your phone off. Shut the f*cking TVs off. Shut the world off. And tune in to you. David Goggins (Source)

The bottom line is that life is one big mind game. The only person you are playing against is yourself. David Goggins

There’s got to be someone who demonstrates greatness and makes everyone around them think differently. David Goggins

I don’t stop when I’m tired. I stop when I’m done. David Goggins

David Goggins On Discipline

My work ethic is the single most important factor in all of my accomplishments. David Goggins

To grow you must suffer. David Goggins

Analyze your schedule, kill your empty habits, burn out the bullshit, and see what’s left. David Goggins

It’s a lot more than mind over matter. It takes relentless self-discipline to schedule suffering into your day, every day. David Goggins

It’s going to be hard work, discipline, and the non-cognitive skills – hard work, dedication, sacrifice – that will set you apart. David Goggins

We are training kids and people to be soft, in a world that continuously gets harder. David Goggins

Mental toughness is a lifestyle. David Goggins

People take classes on self-help, mental toughness, breathing control – the only way to get tougher is to put yourself in hellacious situations. David Goggins

I thought I’d solved a problem when really I was creating new ones by taking the path of least resistance. David Goggins

The only way to achieve greatness in life is to have patience, consistency, and discipline. David Goggins

Related

You have to be willing to go to war with yourself and create a whole new identity. David Goggins

You are in danger of living a life so comfortable and soft, that you will die without ever realizing your true potential. David Goggins

Our culture has become hooked on the quick-fix, the life hack, efficiency. Everyone is on the hunt for that simple action algorithm that nets maximum profit with the least amount of effort. David Goggins

Life is one big tug of war between mediocrity and trying to find your best self. David Goggins

Everybody comes to a point in their life when they want to quit. But it’s what you do at that moment that determines who you are. David Goggins

Know why you’re in the fight to stay in the fight. David Goggins

Denial is the ultimate comfort zone. David Goggins

David Goggins On Suffering

Life isn’t supposed to be fair, much less bend to your every whim. David Goggins

The Buddha famously said that life is suffering. I’m not a Buddhist, but I know what he meant and so do you. To exist in this world, we must contend with humiliation, broken dreams, sadness, and loss. That’s just nature. David Goggins

When you think that you are done, you’re only 40% into what your body’s capable of doing. That’s just the limits that we put on ourselves. David Goggins

The more things you can do to get outside of that zone that makes you feel good, the stronger your mind is going to get. It’s not fun, but now my mind is used to it. David Goggins

Pain unlocks a secret doorway in the mind, one that leads to both peak performance, and beautiful silence. David Goggins

Never be ashamed of anything you’ve done in your life. Face it, fix it, make it better. David Goggins

It will always be up to you to find the lesson in every shitty situation and use it to become stronger, wiser, and better. David Goggins

Life is the most brutal endurance sport of all time. David Goggins

It’s about gaining control of your mind, putting things back in the proper perspective, and then saying, “I really do want to be here.”. David Goggins

You’re gonna experience involuntary hardships in life, so might as well preapre by experiencing voluntary hardships. David Goggins

Stop looking for a sign that the hard time will end. David Goggins

No one is going to come help you. No one is coming to save you. David Goggins

My happiness is my reflection on the suffering during my journey and knowing that I never quit nor was I guided by anybody on this earth. David Goggins

It’s possible to transcend anything that doesn’t kill you. David Goggins

You have to build calluses on your brain just like how you build calluses on your hands. Calluses your mind through pain and suffering. David Goggins

In every failure a lot of good things will have happened, and we must acknowledge them. David Goggins

The human body can withstand and accomplish a hell of a lot more than most of us think possible, and that it all begins and ends in the mind. David Goggins

We can’t control all the variables in our lives. It’s about what we do with opportunities revoked or presented to us that determine how a story ends. David Goggins

If you’re willing to suffer, and I mean suffer, your brain and body once connected together, can do anything. David Goggins

Everything in life is a mind game! Whenever we get swept under by life’s dramas, large and small, we are forgetting that no matter how bad the pain gets, no matter how harrowing the torture, all bad things end. David Goggins

Failure is an option. It’s what you do with the failure that makes you who you are. Our failures mold us. I have failed at several things in my life. What sets some of us apart, is that when we fail, we can’t sleep at night. It haunts us until we have our time at redemption. David Goggins

David Goggins On Success

Nobody cares what you did yesterday. What have you done today to better yourself? David Goggins

Success begins when you push beyond your comfort zone, when you embrace the pain, and when you never back down from the challenge. David Goggins

You will not find toughness in a comfortable environment. David Goggins

If you can get through things that you hate to do, on the other side is greatness. David Goggins

The only thing more contagious than a good attitude is a bad one. David Goggins

From the time you take your first breath, you become eligible to die. You also become eligible to find your greatness and become the one warrior. David Goggins

A prepared mind craves the worst conditions because it knows that pressure brings out its best. David Goggins

In a world where mediocrity is often the standard, my life’s mission is to become uncommon amongst the uncommon. David Goggins

Become a savage and live life on your own terms. David Goggins

It is a lifelong quest for more knowledge, more courage, more humility, and more belief. Because when you summon the strength and discipline to live like that, the only thing limiting your horizons is you. David Goggins

Small minds and weak people kill big dreams. David Goggins

The hard part is getting to that point, because the ticket to victory often comes down to bringing your very best when you feel your worst. David Goggins

Be someone you are proud of. David Goggins

If you can see yourself doing something, you can do it. If you can’t see yourself doing it, usually you can’t achieve it. David Goggins

It’s so easy to be great today because most people are weak. David Goggins

No matter who you are, who your parents are or were, where you live, what you do for a living, or how much money you have, you’re probably living at about 40 percent of your true capability. David Goggins

Your entitled mind is dead weight. Cut it loose. Don’t focus on what you think you deserve. Take aim on what you are willing to earn! David Goggins

If you want to master the mind and remove your governor, you’ll have to become addicted to hard work. Because passion and obsession, even talent, are only useful tools if you have the work ethic to back them up. David Goggins

You’ll never meet a hater that’s better than you. David Goggins

No matter how much you improve, no matter how much you change who you are, it’s not permanent. David Goggins

Show people, don’t tell people. David Goggins

You are always the purpose. David Goggins

The hero is you. David Goggins

More Quotes By David Goggins

The only way we can change is to be real with ourselves. David Goggins

They don’t know me. David Goggins

Where most people quit, I had just started. David Goggins

A good human being, a fulfilled human being, doesn’t need to break anyone down. All they want to do is build you up. So anybody you meet that calls you out of your name, that bullies you, that messes you up, that makes you feel not lifted, they are dealing with something deep rooted. David Goggins

Don’t be on social media too much. Cut out all the f*cking noise. David Goggins

That phone is the biggest distraction in the world. David Goggins

How long will you allow your past to hold you back before you finally take control of your future? David Goggins

Stop being a person who looks for the attention, the praise, and the applause. You have to know that you put the work in, not just on your body, but most importantly, on your mind. David Goggins

The worst thing that can happen to a man is to become civilized. David Goggins

You cannot be afraid to disappoint people. You have to live the life you want to live. David Goggins

Conclusion

There is no more time to waste. Hours and days evaporate like creeks in the desert. David Goggins

Takeaways from David Goggins

Embrace discomfort. Goggins talks about actively seeking out discomfort as a way to grow. This way you’ll be able to build calluses on your brain (and become stronger). This can be through cold showers, meditation, daily exercises, physical challenges, etc.
Be relentless. Once you have a goal in mind, do whatever it takes to accomplish it. And never forget about the 40% rule as Goggins says.
Be self-reliant. Don’t be a victim of circumstances and take responsibility for your life. Be your own hero. Remember that Goggins had a father who abused him as a kid. But that didn’t limit himself, on the contrary.
Be disciplined. Goggins advocates for living a life of discipline, away from comfort. This way, you’ll find meaning and purpose. You’ll also get closer to living your dreams.
Conquer your mind. Goggins completed 3 Hell Week tests (one of the most arduous trials in the military), countless ultramarathons, and countless 24-hour races. He is also a former Guinness world record holder for pull-ups (4030 in 17 hours). In sum, you can become a better version of yourself. Stay hard!