The Cookie Jar

I recently read “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins and it was a fantastic read! Intense for sure, because that is Goggin’s style. Throughout the book, Goggins shared principles for life that he learned from his experience growing up in an abusive household, his weight loss journey to join to the Navy, career as a Navy SEAL, and his journey to becoming an elite ultra athlete.

One of the concepts Goggins shared, was the idea of having a personal cookie jar. Now he wasn’t talking about a cookie jar on the counter full of chocolate chip cookies (or your own preference). He spoke about a metaphorical cookie jar that was a collection of both good and bad experiences or memories from the past. Goggins shares that this idea of the cookie jar is importanat, because of how much you learn from the bad experiences and how much you enjoyed the good moments.

By having this mental cookie jar you have a collection of moments that you can draw upon at present times. Use the good moments to remind you of what you’re capable of and that you’ve had success before. Use the bad moments to remind you that you’ve been through challenging moments or experiences before, so you can surely handle what is being thrown at you now.

It’s important to use the past and not just focus on it. Goggins cookie jar metaphor is a great way to start collecting and organizing your previous experiences and start putting them to work for you. Don’t just rely on the good or bad moments, use both experiences, because they have helped you get to where you are now and will help you get where you want to go.

Now anyone else craving a cookie?