Do you have grit?

What the heck it grit?

Grit is defined as the combination of passion for a long-term goal and effort towards that end. Especially in the face of adversity, ambiguity, nay sayers and all that comes with the daily do’s. The idea of having grit goes back to as far as Aristotle and is still of great interest to employers, professionals, self-improvement novelist and parents.

Why is it so important?

Students who perform at a satisfactory or above rate, versus straight A’s, perform better in post-secondary. In NY Times “What Straight-A Students Get Wrong” article by Adam Grant he advises “Straight-A students: Recognize that underachieving in school can prepare you to overachieve in life. So maybe it’s time to apply your grit to a new goal — getting at least one B before you graduate”. Studies also show that folks with grit “get more done” than folks without it, because they are able to dig deeper and go the extra mile.

The use of the word grit reached a peak in 1917 when the U.S. entered into World War I. Again in 1947 as we entered into the Cold War and explorer Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, smashed into the reef in the Pacific Ocean. Heyerdahl defied his peers, advisors and “known” science to substantiate what he believed to be true.

New York Times bestseller, psychologist and author Angela Duckworth writes that the secret to outstanding achievement is a special blend of passion and persistence in her book Grit. Having grit is woven into the fabric of our country, history and our way of life. Each family, community, culture has rich history of survival and resilience.

What do you dig deep for? What end state requires your grit to overcomes barriers and stay in for the long haul? Does having grit prohibit or increase your ability to be kind?

Introvert or extrovert. Being resilient is sure fire characteristic of success. If you’re not sure if you have it take 5 minutes to journal all the things your survived, tackled or accomplished this year. Seriously do it! None of them have killed you, you’re still here making it happen.