Cookie jar
A mental store of past wins to draw on when you want to quit
Deliberately remembering the hard things you have already survived or achieved, then reaching for one of them mid-suffering as proof that you can keep going. The image comes from David Goggins, who wrote it up in his books as a tool for the moments when you want to quit. Some people keep the list in their head, others on paper. It costs nothing and works best when the entries are specific.
Who backs it
Sorted by strength of stance
- David GogginsRecommends
Retired Navy SEAL · Can't Hurt Me
One of the tools he says he and his partner Jennifer spent years writing down for readers, alongside the accountability mirror and callusing the mind. He adds that the tools are the part that fits in a book and the daily obsession is not.
Source: Huberman Lab: David Goggins: How to Build Immense Inner Strength
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under stress or focus.
- Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
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Backed by 23 of 44 stacks: 17 do it, 0 recommend it, 6 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
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Transcendental Meditation
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Backed by 2 of 44 stacks: 2 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
5 Second Rule countdown
Count 5-4-3-2-1 out loud and move before hesitation talks you out of it
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 1 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Box breathing
Inhale, hold, exhale, hold, each for a count of four, repeated for a few minutes
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 1 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Protocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
HRV biofeedback training
Paced breathing against a live heart rate variability readout, a few minutes a day
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 0 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
Protocol entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.