What is Grit?

The dictionary defines it as: courage and resolve; strength of character. Synonym: courage, bravery, backbone, spirit, toughness, resolve, determination, perseverance, tenacity, endurance.

Becoming Successful and How

There’s an amazing TED talk, “Grit: The power of passion and perseverance” that I highly recommend checking out. While IQ is important, success doesn’t always come down to how smart you are or how quickly you learn. Success isn’t dependent solely on your talent. Many times, success comes down to your grit. The determination to get something done is what leads to success. You can have all the knowledge or talent in the world but if you lack the ability to commit and follow through then you’ll never find success.

The Power of Grit

Grit is the secret of the underdog in a fight. How do they win? They pull out all the stops and put in every ounce of spirit, toughness, and bravery they’ve got to make it. You’ll see it in movies like The Karate Kid, Seabiscuit, The Rookie, and of course- Rocky to name a few. The recurring trait in these characters was that they put everything they had into their fight to win.

Never underestimate the power of determination.

Even when facing death, people will hold on to life with pure determination until they are ready to go. I’ll never forget, my grandmother was the ultimate example of grit throughout her life. In her final example, she was in the hospital and was on a ventilator. The family had decided it was time to take her off and the doctor said that once that happened she would pass quickly. I had gone downstairs and recall my sister running down because this was about to happen and I needed to get up there. We quickly went up, they took her off the ventilator and through sheer determination she held on for twelve hours. She suffered from chronic heart failure. This should have been impossible. Impossible. She wasn’t ready to let go yet and she refused. She did it on her own time.

I’ve heard many stories of loved ones who were dying but refused to let go until they heard what they were waiting on, such as a family member letting them know everyone would be ok. The power of determination is not to be underestimated.

The high school senior who was homeless but managed to be valedictorian of his class, it was his grit that got him there. He could have easily made excuses and no one would have blamed him. Theodore Roosevelt is an incredible example of grit and determination. One of my favorite quotes from him is-

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strived valiantly; who errs, who comes again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

Grow Your Grit

Is it possible to grow your grit? You first have to be able to recognize your grit in order to grow it. Check out this Grit Scale and Ambition Scale first. Then, check out the article by Patrik Edbalad; This is how to Grow Your Grit: 5 Secrets where he breaks down five ways to grow your grit. There’s also an article by Tanner Christensen; “4 Proven Ways to Develop More Grit” that is definitely worth at read. He points out that to achieve the impossible you’ll need purpose, practice, hope and time. Want to help kids increase their grit also? Check out Why Every Kid Needs Grit and How To Help Them Get It.