Grit

It first came to me in a fundraising request letter.  They had borrowed it from a study.  I then found someone else had blogged about it in his own way.  if I could find several sources within a few minutes, surely there is widespread repetition of the topic occurring.  To quote the old saying, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so here I jump on the imitation bandwagon, because it is a SmartGeorge lesson: GRIT.

From Angela Duckworth, “Grit: Perseverence and Passion for Long-Term Goals”:

“Grit entails working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress.  The Gritty individual approaches achievement as a marathon; his or her advantage is stamina.  Nobody is talented enough to not to have to work hard, and that’s what grit allows you to do.”

So you’re 15, 16 years old.  What does “grit” mean to you?  Dictionary definition: “courage and resolve; strength of character.” Chances are, if you’re coming out of childhood, you aren’t likely to have had to practice extensive grit.  But you should make every effort to learn more about grit and how to make it part of your life.  How?  Well, read about it of course!  There are countless fascinating books that bear witness to success that comes from employing grit in life.  What first comes to mind is the story of the South American plane crash in the Andes mountains that stranded a rugby team high in the mountains with no rescue available.  Their survival, and subsequent escape, told in the well known book, “Alive”, is nothing if not an example of pure grit.  I had the pleasure of hearing the story directly from the leader of that escape (Nando Parado) a couple of months ago - truly stunning. It remains the greatest example of the capabilities of humans, under extreme duress, that I’ve yet heard or read.  This is just one of many stories that inspire and teach.  Read all you can.

From what discipline does grit emerge?  Sacrifice.  Heard of that before?!  I believe grit is the result of incrementalism around sacrifice.  For instance, the ability to put down the computer or video game in favor of a book (or extra homework!) every night is the beginning of the development of grit in pursuit of your goals in life.  One goal, one day at a time, incrementalism develops and will serve you well.  But it must be from YOU.  No one can give it to you.  Do it on your own, and you’ll succeed.

I found the Blog by “Study Hacks” on this topic to hit the nail on the head.  You can find it at:

http://calnewport.com/blog/2009/07/08/grit-grinds-and-living-the-low-stress-life/

"...maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus..."   Think about what that really means.  That's where success lies!