Who are you?

I am writing this on a Friday morning and in a few hours, I will be hitting the road for a weekend-long adventure. Other than clothes, all I am packing is a book to read and a book to write in, no technology for entertainment or distraction.

To the same degree that I aim to rest, I intend to find some clarity.

Last night I finished reading David Goggins' book, "Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds", and one part has stuck with me till this morning.

In his 30s after a lot of pain and suffering, David lay on his bed with little hope of living past the week and all he could do was look back at his life, his childhood that was littered with abuse, the brutality his body had endured both by the world and at his own hands, up to where he was now bedridden. And he could do was smile; he was at peace.

What he had done for most of his adulthood was to systematically interrogate and rewrite any limitation he'd come to believe about himself. His tank was dry as the desert he'd once run in and he was better for it - he had lived through hell to find his heaven.

Today I ask you what I've felt inspired to ask myself, what is your heaven and what is your hell? As you lay on your final bed, whether tomorrow or in 50 years, and look back at your life, will the movie that plays before your eyes be a retelling of heaven or hell?

Will it be a life choked by fear into inaction? Or will it be a life filled to the brim with pride? Take the next 2 days to sit with your thoughts and write out as vividly as you can how each of those versions of your life may look.

How does a day in your heaven or hell look? Who do you spend your time with? What do you spend your time doing? Are you at peace?

This is not a feel-good exercise; this is a search for your truth.

Further reading

1. David Goggins on the Joe Rogan Experience.

2. A take on why you shouldn't listen to David Goggins.