If you haven’t heard Jocko Willink’s near legendary “GOOD” video, go do that now.
It’s at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdTMDpizis8.
Seriously, it’s only two minutes long. And you need to know the message to understand what I’m going to say about it.
Done? No?!
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Ok, that’s better. Now we can move on…
Have you ever done a killer workout and felt awesome at the end?
You know, an intense leg day at the gym. Or quicker than normal training run. Or the bike ride where you’re in the zone.
Afterwards, you’re sore for a couple days. But you can’t help bringing it up with your friends and family.
You’re a little bit proud, a little bit humbled.
It’s not that one workout changed you, really. But it did, a little bit.
You’re a slightly better version of yourself. Even though, remember, it was a killer workout.
It was hard.
And, despite yourself, you loved it. Or maybe you just loved being done with it.
That feeling is your body giving you feedback. And the feedback it is giving you is one simple word: “GOOD”.
Your body is a biological system, and it has the quality of antifragility. It gets stronger with stress.
And you know it, deep down. Your body knows it. It’s encoded into every cell that is a part of you.
That killer workout was stress. It was volatility.
And it made you stronger.
GOOD.
Jocko’s genius is applying that principle to the rest of life.
When you do that, you strengthen your own antifragility. You become a little better at growing from the stress, trauma and challenges of life.
GOOD.
Had a bad day? GOOD. Had a good day? GOOD. Failed to get the job? GOOD. Lost a sale? GOOD.
It’s the orientation that leads to growth. Specifically, post-traumatic growth.
Post traumatic growth is the opposite of post traumatic stress. It’s when you experience a setback, possibly a very traumatic one, and you become stronger, better, because of it.
You do it by repeating to yourself, over and over, “GOOD.” And then finding the good, learning from it, growing.
Most of the stress you experience is minor, most of the failures are barely significant.
Say to yourself “GOOD,” and grow.
Your body is doing that after each workout.
You can too.