‘Grit’ or ‘Suck it up Buttercup’
Grit is a funny word because as a noun it means ‘small loose particles of sand or stone’, or (and this is a pretty big or) it can mean ‘courage and resolve, strength of character. Walking along the beach can be beautiful, but also pretty difficult because of the grit (small loose particles of sand) that make walking more difficult. So why walk along the beach? Why use grit to push through a difficult or long-suffering situation? The walk or goal is worth the effort and grit.
Angela Lee Duckworth presented a TED talk on GRIT and discussed how grit is essential to obtain success and marks the difference between why some people persevere through hard circumstances and others do not.
Do you give up or give in too quickly? Do you set goals you never reach? There is a psychological term called Frustration Tolerance and it evaluates your ability to push through frustrating situations so that you can come out the other end stronger and achieve a certain result. Some of the best examples of this are sports, giving birth, or buying a house. These are, to put it mildly, frustrating moments and perhaps even painful/doubtful moments, however, we push through because the end result is worth the work.
Your personal growth is worth the work. Do you believe that? Do you know how or perhaps why you want to grow and mature as a person? We are still at the beginning of the year, so this is a great opportunity to sit down and think about what we would like to work on and push for this year. Let’s take the urgency out - we have a year. What do you want to work on? You know it will not be easy, and you may want to give up, but GRIT will help you get closer to your goal.
This time next year:
What would you like to accomplish?
How would you like to characterize this year?
What would you like to think about yourself?
Write it down, and I would love to hear what you wrote. If not me, share what you wrote with at least one other person. You have GRIT - use it.
— Tracy Paulino, L.M.H.C.