Bear Grylls: Man VS Failure, Anxiety & Imposter Syndrome | E155

Just because you're determined doesn't mean everything's gonna go well.

Those four people that passed away, were they climbing with you?

I'm Bear Grylls, and I've learned how to survive in some of the most hostile terrains on the planet.

You really fascinate me for a number of reasons that I actually never knew before I started digging into your story. You certainly had a lot of demons.

In the early days of TV especially, there was so much pressure to go and do that and do the extra episode. You end up burning the things that are most valuable. To be successful, you have to sacrifice, but maybe you reach a point where enough's enough. Selection for the Special Forces is all about heart and spirit, and we can all have that. That's not a God-given talent, that's a muscle that builds with walking through the, the door of failure time and time again and keep getting back up.

When was your darkest moment?

One was when I, when I broke my back and, and was in rehabilitation for a long time. And, you know, so much of my rock in my life had been that I was physically strong and I was doing a job I loved, and suddenly I couldn't even reach the bathroom without excruciating agony. And it was just a, "What am I gonna do with my life?"

When is there a time to give up? So without further ado, I'm Steven Bartlett, and this is The Diary of a CEO. I hope nobody's listening, but if you are, then please keep this to yourself. Bear, I wanna start where I usually start, which is near the start. And one of the things you said was, you certainly had a lot of demons. You, the quote, the exact quote is, "I was never short of demons." When I read that, I thought, "W- well what do you, what do you mean?"

Mm. Growing up I really struggled with confidence, you know, definitely when I was at school. And I think, uh, you know, I think so much of the school culture still to this day, you know, it definitely tends to celebrate the, you know, the guy who's academic or sporty or good-looking or just a cool guy, you know, and that, those are the currency of school. But as you and me know, it's not always the currency of life. And, but you try and tell a kid who, who maybe isn't sporty or academic who's just kind and, and does his best, you know, that actually those things have much more value in life, and it's kinda hard to believe. But certainly for me, I didn't, I didn't have, I wasn't the sporty or the most academic or the cool guy. Um, and I think it took me a while to find an identity, and actually this is what, you know, this is what l- I love, and it's nothing kinda brilliant, but, but I love it. And for me growing up it was always climbing with my dad. You know, he'd been a, he'd been a commando and, and loved all of that sort of stuff. And for me growing up it was always, you know, that's what I loved to do, just, just have mini adventures with him. And I think it took a while to learn that that's okay. You know, my dad would always say, "You've gotta find something you really love and try and be kind to people along the way and be resilient, you know, have that dogged, never give up attitude." And th- that's the s- that's the key things for life. And, uh, but it's hard to believe that as a kid, and sometimes you, if you get a bit lost in the system. Um, so I suppose what I meant is that it took me a while to find the confidence, you know. And it's still a journey I think we're all on. You know, I think success doesn't always answer those sort of questions, and I think confidence has to come from in here, and it's often the opposite of what we think it is when we're growing up. You know, confidence is quiet, and I think that's where, that's kinda what I meant.