Hey, What’s up. Vihan here. Welcome back to the channel. Today I want to ask you to
think back to the last time you thought that things were not working out for you. You likely
felt like whatever you were dealing with was never going to improve and you didn’t have
the ability to make it through it. This is actually extremely common and is something
that I’ve dealt with on my own, but that changed when I came across The Cookie Jar
Method from David Goggins.
Before we get started, don’t forget to hit that thumbs up button if you like this video
and subscribe to the channel and hit that notification bell for more stuff like this
every single week. Alright. Let’s get going.
David Goggins is a retired Navy SEAL and the only member of the U.S. Armed Forces ever
to complete SEAL training, U.S. Army Ranger School, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller
training. Goggins has competed in more than sixty ultra-marathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons,
setting new course records and regularly placing in the top five. A former Guinness World Record
holder for completing 4,030 pull-ups in seventeen hours, his memoir Can’t Hurt Me was also
a New York Time Best Seller. All in all, he is considered to be one of the toughest men
in the world.
Goggins came up with a motivation and perseverance technique called The Cookie Jar method when
he was running one of the hardest ultramarathons ever, called badwater-135. Essentially this
marathon required him to run 100 miles in one day, which is roughly the length of 4
full marathons. At mile 50, Goggins’ body started to hurt. At mile 70, he couldn’t
take another step, it was at this point where he remembered all the hard training that he
had been through and had overcome. This gave him a burst of motivation that helped him
get back on his feet and see him reach the finish line.
So What is The Cookie Jar Method? Well, imagine you have a large jar into which you place
all of your past accomplishments and failures—the things you did which you once believed would
be too terrifying, too difficult, or too impossible. But you did them anyway. You transcended your
own self-limiting belief. Those are the "cookies" you place in the jar.
Then, when you are confronted by obstacles in life that feel too overwhelming, remember
to go into your cookie jar and remove cookies of past accomplishments and draw from your
past victories. They are placed there to remind you that you can do it.
Goggins has said - “Remembering what you’ve been through and how that has strengthened
your mindset can lift you out of a negative brain loop and help you bypass those weak,
one-second impulses to give in.”
Now, you may wonder what the point is of having real cookies in your jar, well frankly I get
kinda hungry when I make these videos but you can actually write a bunch of small notes
with all of your achievements and failures and put them in the jar. So that way, whenever
you need some encouragement, a good reminder of how awesome you are, or mistakes you should
avoid repeating. Just open the jar, take out a note, and remind yourself.
You don’t have to be an ultramarathon runner like Goggins or push yourself to the point
of getting hurt. It could even be that time you broke a bad habit, you overcame a small
hurdle or you worked through a really hard task. Whatever the case may be and whatever
you’ve overcome, this should go in your cookie jar for when things get tough.
In fact, I’ve found this method to be most effective when you feel like you’re reaching
a breaking point with anything that you’re striving towards. It’s those moments when
you begin to tell yourself things like “This is not worth it” or “I can’t handle
this anymore”. Those are the crucial moments when The Cookie Jar Methods comes in handy.
Our tendency to live in the present and be overwhelmed by the hardship we’re going
through and not really recall everything we’ve been through and overcome makes this technique
all the more relevant. You know, in my case, there have been plenty of rough patches that
I keep hitting. Producing these videos takes a lot of work and when a video doesn’t do
as well, you question what all of this is for. When that happens, I think about how
much this channel has grown and all the encouraging responses from all of you watching. And that
keeps me going
So when life gets challenging as it always does, reach into your cookie jar, pull out
a tough time you conquered and realize you can win now even though you don't feel like
it. You can succeed now when otherwise you might have given up. You've succeeded before,
you're ready to do it again. This is mastering motivation at its highest level and if you
do actually have a bunch of cookies lying around, don’t forget to take a bite every
now and then.
Let me know in the comments below what your favorite accomplishments or cookies are. You
know… the ones that you turn to when things get tough. If you found this video helpful,
leave me a Thumbs Up down below and subscribe and hit that notification bell for more stuff
from me every week. Thanks so much for watching. Catch you next time. Peace