When Grit Grinds to a Halt!

When Grit Grinds to a Halt!

ELEVATING TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Marie-Therese Phido

I had to have a very serious discussion with one of my staff members today. Talking about grit and the necessity for assigned work to get done. My experience has been one excuse after another and nothing really getting done. What I hear is why something cannot be done and not how despite all my challenges, I have been able to get the assigned work done. This attitude really concerns me. You will recall last week, I wrote about participants cheating and not putting the time and the effort required to do the assignments and projects they had been given. These days most people do not want to try or work hard to succeed. They either want to cut corners or not put in the work required to get the work done.

I remember how passionate and determined I was anytime an assignment was given to me. I thrived on assignments I had no clue about, because cracking it and making it work drove me. I loved the challenge and adrenaline. Giving me work that did not motivate nor challenged me was a nonstarter for me. I struggled with mundane, repetitive work. Mundane and repetitive work, seems to be what many people want today. They do not want anything that makes them think out of the box, innovate and originate.

The question then is, what is grit?

Grit is a distinct combination of passion, resilience, determination, and focus that allows a person to maintain the discipline and optimism to persevere in their goals even in the face of discomfort, rejection, and a lack of visible progress for years, or even decades.

“Through extensive research, Angela Duckworth and her team have proven that the common denominator among spelling bee finalists, salespeople and professionals who not only stick with, but improve in their performance is grit.

And according to study after study, people who are smart, talented, kind, curious, generally don’t succeed if they don’t know how to work hard, remain committed to their goals, and persevere through struggles and failure.”

Having grit means you will do all that is humanly possible to achieve your set goals or objectives or mandates that have been set for you for which you agreed to do. It also means you will do everything necessary to succeed irrespective of the challenges. Lolly Daskal says, “It’s a force so powerful that it allows people to stand out from the rest and succeed even though their skills and experience may be less than top-drawer.”

So how do you know if you have grit? Here are 15 signs from the experts:

You’re comfortable being uncomfortable

Grit means regularly sacrificing comfort by stepping out of your box. It means you don’t have to accept your limits or settle for what you are; you have the ability to create who you want to become.

You stay on course until you succeed

If you have grit, you have tremendous focus. You know how to stay on course until you get to where you want to go. If you can keep focused on what you want and keep moving toward it, that’s the way to succeed.

You maintain your commitment even when you’re knocked down

Having grit means you’re fully committed to the cause. You bring together good ideas and hard work, ambition and dedication, and your commitment stands the test through time and troubles.

You use your intuition when most would use their rational mind

You trust your gut when you have grit. Most people think they have to think smarter to be better, but to have grit is to trust your instinct over logic. If you feel in your heart that something needs to be done, you do it.

You put up a brave front even though you’re scared

When you have true grit, you’re courageous despite your fear. You put up a brave front because you know that everything you want is on the other side of your fear. Grit is finding the courage to do something that terrifies you.

You keep going even when you’re not sure you will win

Grit tells you it’s important to succeed but it’s not all about winning–the journey is as important as the destination. When you keep going and rely on your grit, it will carry you to places they never knew you could reach.

You don’t allow anything to get in your way

Having grit means you know it’s not enough to hope your success will all work out–you have to do whatever it takes to make it happen. You’re determined and prepared for any obstacles that may lie ahead.

You’re strong-minded and mentally tough

No thought can take you off course; no challenge will throw you off track. When you have grit, you’re strong-minded and mentally tough enough to see possibilities where others cannot.

You don’t take embarrassment to heart

When you have grit, you don’t get humiliated or mortified by mistakes you’ve made or failures you’ve encountered. You refuse to give up, give in or get out–when you know what you want you let nothing get in your way.

You accept support but you don’t rely on it

Grit means you can use help and accept it when it’s available, but if not, you get it done on your own. It’s great to have help, but it’s not the deciding factor when you’re deciding whether to proceed with a plan.

You learn as you go and stay flexible in your thinking

Grit makes you a constant learner, seeker, explorer. Learning is something you do with every new experience and encounter, and your mind is open to new discoveries.

You forego perfection for high standards

You don’t get bogged down trying to be perfect. Instead, you strive for something that’s actually attainable: quality, being the best, giving with excellence and maintaining high standards.

You stay positive even when the situation is negative

Grit means you may experience negative circumstances and attitudes, but you don’t allow the negativity to keep you down. Grit leads you to a conscious choice to stay positive when things are negative.

You care about your return on investment

You’re all about putting your heart and soul into something and getting something out as a result of your efforts, but that return isn’t always financial. It may be in the form of new knowledge or experiences. Your payoffs are measured in meaning.

You will do anything, but not everything

Grit means that you know what’s most important, you understand the difference between being busy and being successful, and you align your actions to your priorities because that’s the approach that best moves you toward your goals.

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