Jocko Underground: What to do When Life Seems To Be Unsatisfying.

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Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Jocko Willink?

  This is the Jocko Underground Podcast, number 220, sitting here with Echo Charles. We have questions from the front lines, from where the rubber meets the road, from the troopers in the field right now.

• 0:10Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 0:11Jocko Willink?

  And we are going to give you some answers, some recommendations, and at a minimum, some courses of action for you to take. So let's get into it.

• 0:20Speaker 01

  Yep. So if any of these scenarios applies to you in principle, not in detail, but in principle, boom, might help you out. That's the way I see it.

• 0:28Jocko Willink?

  Mm-hmm.

• 0:30Speaker 01

  Okay, first question. Thank you for that, Jocko Echo. Thank you for everything you do. In general, I'd say I got my life figured out. I'm 39, six foot, 200 pounds. I do not do jujitsu, but I work out five days a week focusing on strength and cardio. My core routine is based around pull-ups, dips, kettlebells, bike, run, and row. I train for 45 to 90 minutes, usually starting at 4:45 a.m. I also stretch every night. Okay. I've been married for 16 years and have five kids, 18, 13, 8, 6, and 3. The kids are progressing well in school, soccer, and baseball. I have a job I wanted. I have the job I wanted, a house, cars, and generally I feel like I have it all. However, somehow it doesn't feel

• 1:16Speaker 01

  like enough or satisfying. It's rather conflicting. I'm feeling the inklings of burnout and at the same time, the desire to do more. Obviously, I need to keep grinding for the family. I'm in a, I'm in the new product development world, engineering. I have considered becoming a game warden, but the salary transition would put my family in unnecessary stress and no guaranteed. That will scratch the satisfaction itch. Please don't take my comments as being unhappy with fam, with family. They are what keeps me going. I also want to mention that I served in the Marine, the Marines with one pumped Iraq as a logistical convoy security 50 gunner.

• 1:59Jocko Willink?

  Oh, yeah.

• 2:00Speaker 01

  Even with all the accomplishments and accolades, do you ever feel that it's not enough? Is jujitsu really the answer?

• 2:08Jocko Willink?

  Oh, big question. First of all, thanks for your service, Devil Dog, Semper Fi. Being a, being a convoy security machine gunner, 50 cal, in Iraq was a freaking dangerous job. And thank you for what you did. Okay, so is jujitsu enough? Well, look, it's a good start. It's definitely fun, engages your body and mind. You get to compete aggressively against other humans, which I think sometimes is a animal instinct that we have. Like, we want to, we are driven to compete against other humans. Look, we wouldn't be here if

• 2:51Jocko Willink?

  our ancestors didn't crush the other tribes, right? We wouldn't be here. We'd be some, we wouldn't made it. But our ancestors, they made shit happen. So there's got to be some instinct that we have, that we want to fight against aggressively against other humans. And that feels good. And it feels good even when you lose, because you know that you're figuring stuff out, you're getting better. And you, when you win, you feel good. When you lose, you know you need to do more. Jujitsu requires, you know, focus, it requires, it requires creativity. There's even a create, creative spark that gets to ignite in jujitsu. And it requires discipline. So it's gratifying in each of those little categories. So jujitsu,

• 3:36Jocko Willink?

  definitely, you start training. Now, that being said, jujitsu doesn't scratch every itch for every category for every person, obviously. There are other arenas of achievement that people sometimes want to gratify. And again, I think these are intrinsic feelings that people have. Service and sacrifice, like some people feel like they need to serve. They feel like they need to sacrifice. Some people, they're chasing money. Some people, they're chasing fame. Some people, they're chasing position. Some people, they're chasing rank. Some people are chasing different fancy cars, or fancy houses, or some title. Right?

• 4:15Jocko Willink?

  And these are all things that, you know, you're not going to get, jujitsu may not satisfy those. Jujitsu might, it might be like, oh, I don't really, really don't care about, you know, money anymore, because I get to train, I enjoy, you know, might satisfy your fame, like, oh, I don't know, don't need to be famous. I like, you know, it's so, but if you have those holes and they're not filled, that are outside of the realm of jujitsu, then it is possible that you, it might not be enough. So I think you need to figure out what it is you're missing. You need to figure out, you know, when you say it's not enough, we need to figure out what the enough is. What, what is it that you need? Is it making

• 4:57Jocko Willink?

  service and sacrifice? Is it money? Is it fame? Is it position? Is it rank? Is it cars? Is it houses, titles? I don't know. It might be for you, service, because you were in the Marine Corps, and you, you indicated that you want to become a game warden, which is sort of like service and sacrifice, because you're putting on a uniform and you're out there doing in the field. And so that could be a thing. You, you're missing the ability to serve in that capacity, other people, and make sacrifices for other people. Now, we'd tell you that there's plenty of options that you could fulfill that desire, joining

• 5:42Jocko Willink?

  the Army Reserves, which, listen, there's plenty of people that are in the Marine Corps that join the Army Reserves, not that big of a deal. Volunteer firefighter, volunteer police officer. Like, there's a bunch of things that you could do as side projects and still maintain your job in product development. Or at least they wouldn't interfere much. Look, if you join the Army Reserves, you're going to have some downtime, you're going to have to go on, what do they call those things? Exercises and whatnot, drill weekends with the reserves. If you're a volunteer firefighter, that might cut into your job a little bit, but it's not going to be a big deal. But I think that would be a good place to start, because if you have that desire to serve, those things should quench

• 6:24Jocko Willink?

  that desire, at least at some point. If you figure out that you're missing something else, like the other, the thing that you're missing is something else, maybe it's money or car or title or position. It sounds like you're satisfied with those things, but figure out what that thing is. You know, like, figure out what it is. What, what is it? What is it that you want? What title do you want? What position do you want? What car do you want? Figure out, and then come, come up with a plan to get that thing and go execute on it. That's not that big of a deal. You know, you really want the super nice car? You want a supercar? Get one of those new Corvettes. They're 120 grand. They're freaking badass. You know what I'm saying? You can get one. You can, you can, you're, you have

• 7:07Jocko Willink?

  a house. You can figure out how to get one of those cars. Now, you say that you already have what you want. You have the job you wanted, the house you wanted, the cars you wanted. You feel like you're there. But if there's something that you're missing, figure out what it is. Now, all that being said, here's what, here's my, probably my strongest answer for you, and the most critical piece of this answer, is, bro, you've got five kids, healthy kids, I'm assuming. You've got a solid job. You're healthy. You have a house. You have cars. You have a wife. That's pretty much what everybody wants. And I'm not saying

• 7:50Jocko Willink?

  you might not want more, but dude, it reminds me of a story I've told before, which is being out surfing with my buddy Seth Stone, my brother Seth Stone. And he's getting all philosophical and crazy out there in the water with me. And he's going crazy and talking all this emotional stuff. And he goes, dude, and we're out there surfing, it's, it's like a, it's like an afternoon. Occasionally in San Diego, when the sun's going down and there's, there's no wind, and the, the waves, they kind of glow. When you're riding, the waves, they glow from the back, this amazing color. And it contrasts with the sky. And it's just one of those days, there's no wind, we're just out there. It's, and for whatever reason, there's not, there's no one out surfing, there's like two or three other guys, they

• 8:34Jocko Willink?

  don't, they might as well not even be there. And it's chest high, offshore breeze, just a slight offshore breeze, slight. And this MF'er is out there, and he goes, bro, you know how, I don't know how I'm ever going to find happiness. And I'm like, dude, this is it. This is it. This is it. This is what it's all about, what we're doing right now. This is it. And you're, oh, so happiness was sitting right, he was in happiness, bathed in happiness, surrounded in happiness. And he couldn't see it right there. So that's

• 9:16Jocko Willink?

  an indication to me that we can all be in a position where we're surrounded by happiness. It's everywhere around us, but we don't recognize it.

• 9:26Jocko Willink?

  And I kind of feel like you might be in that zone, brother. So look around, breathe it in, relish what you have, and make the best of it.

• 9:43Jocko Willink?

  And start training jujitsu. That's what I got.

• 9:47Speaker 01

  Yeah, first, at first, the jujitsu thing like seemed kind of like a funny thing. And I'm like, yeah, how can you just start taking jujitsu and then all of a sudden life has meaning, right? Or, you know, I'm exaggerating, you know, being dramatic about it, but that's kind of it, right? That was the, that was what I was asking myself. But I've found myself in little mental ruts or whatever. And I go train jujitsu and magically life does have meaning. And then I've had the same thing with just working out. Like I do a hard workout. I'm like, oh my gosh, life has meaning again, kind of a thing. And I just did a workout, which I've been literally doing for decades. And so it's not necessarily the jujitsu or the working out or whatever.

• 10:29Speaker 01

  It's, it's more like something internal that you maybe feel like, and I'm talking about myself. Where I don't have like chronic bouts of this or nothing like that. I'm just saying at these small things, you know, you get this. I feel like I got so used to like the routine of what, what you do, you know? And that's how you can miss like probably where you're sitting in it. You're sitting in the, I remember, um, you know, when I was working at the bar, the nightclubs or whatever, or even, even in college or whatever. I remember thinking like, oh man, wouldn't it be cool to, you know, have X, Y, Z and have this picture in my mind of like, wouldn't it be cool to end up being, doing this and doing, you know, all this stuff?

• 11:09Speaker 01

  And if I flashback to what I was thinking, I have literally hun, 100% of the things that I would quote unquote, dream about and more, 100%. No exception. And I have the audacity to have those thoughts. So it's like, it must be something internal, like, okay, that isn't like, I don't know, isn't stimulating, clicking, you know? And it's probably just a small thing, but since it's internal, it's affecting everything, you know? And that's what it felt like. So then when I worked out or went to jujitsu or did, you know, did something, I don't know if it's because it's hard. I don't know. Cause it's endorphin. I don't know. Whatever it is.

• 11:45Speaker 01

  It kind of satisfies that one little thing that happened to be affecting every, all the good stuff in my life in front of my face, you know? But just for that moment, it's like, it's not as shiny anymore or whatever. But that internal thing that gets satisfied just basically re, you know, brings back the luster in, I don't know, your day, everyday life, I guess. I don't know. It's, it was kind of like that feeling. So I'm thinking, so I'm thinking jujitsu very well could be the answer. 100% like could be, I'm not saying it is, but could be.

• 12:18Speaker 01

  And at the same time, um, kind of what I said before, where we get used to everything, like the luster loot gets worn off. You get a brand new car, you're excited. And then after all, it's just a car, you know? Or you, you know, even I'm sure even if you do some kind of a body transformation, you're like, oh my gosh, I'm so good. And even that wears off. You get used to the feeling of it, right? So yeah, you can have a perfect life. I believe that you can have a quote unquote, perfect life by your own standard. And even that luster can wear off and maybe seem like, oh, I feel like there's more or whatever. But more so than there's more, you're just not seeing and feeling your full bucket right now. You're over here wanting a bigger bucket. Meanwhile, your bucket is full. You know, you look around, no one else's bucket's full, you know, kind of a thing.

• 13:04Jocko Willink?

  Not quite complaining that the gold is heavy. Like, you know what I mean? Not quite complaining the gold is heavy, but not appreciating the fact that you. So that is a little excerpt of what we are doing on the Jocko Underground podcast. So if you want to continue to listen,

• 13:22Jocko Willink?

  go to jacounderground.com and subscribe. And we're doing this, we're doing this to mitigate our reliance on external platforms. So we are not subject to their control. And we are doing this so that we can support the Jocko podcast, which will remain as is free for all, as long as we can keep it that way. But we, but we are doing this so we don't have to be under the control of sponsors. And we're doing it so we can give you more control, more interaction, more direct connections, better communications with us.

• 13:59Jocko Willink?

  And to do that, we are, we're building a website right now where we'll be able to utilize to strengthen this legion of troopers that are in the game with us. So thank you. It's jacounderground.com. It costs $8.18 a month. And if you can't afford to support us, we can still support you. Just email [email protected] and we'll get you taken care of. Until then, we will see you mobilized underground.