Mental toughness, resilience and grit are required to navigate the winding roads of life and enjoy the journey along the way. Keeping momentum with forward motion, getting up again and again and embracing a growth mindset are the fuel to finish strong.
In Grit, The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth summarizes “grit” as passion and perseverance for very long-term goals, having stamina, sticking with your future, day in, day out, for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint. You can grow your grit by cultivating your interests, committing to the daily habit of practice, connecting with a purpose beyond yourself and embracing hope to provide the inspiration to keep going.
“We all face limits – not just in talent, but in opportunity. But more often than we think, our limits are self-imposed. We try, fail, and conclude we’ve bumped our heads against the ceiling of possibility. Or maybe after taking just a few steps we change direction. In either case, we never venture as far as we might have. To be gritty is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. To be gritty is to hold fast to an interesting and purposeful goal. To be gritty is to invest, day after week after year, in challenging practice. To be gritty is to fall down seven times, and rise eight,” Duckworth summarizes. Her Ted Talk on grit has over 18 million views.
In 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, psychotherapist Amy Morin summarizes what mentally tough people avoid:
Waste Time Feeling Sorry for Themselves
Give Away Their Power
Shy Away from Change
Waste Energy on Things They Can't Control
Worry About Pleasing Others
Fear Taking Calculated Risks
Dwell on the Past
Make the Same Mistakes Over and Over
Resent Other People's Success
Give Up After Failure.
Fear Alone Time
Feel the World Owes Them Anything
Expect Immediate Results
It all comes back to controlling the only thing that we can actually influence and control – our own thoughts, attitudes and the actions. We waste a lot of precious hours and sleepless nights pining over things we can’t control – other people.
So here’s my list of 13 things to do based on Morin’s list of what not to do:
Be grateful every day, self-pity is a boring party;
You are powerful, don’t give it away, take the wheel;
Change is the only constant, stop avoiding it and dive in head first;
Control your mindset and let others own what’s theirs to own;
Be your authentic self and it’s a guarantee that not everyone will like you. Those precious few who do are the ones to keep in your life;
Do it afraid to avoid regrets which are rooted in what we don’t do;
Be present in this day, the past is not the future and there are no do overs, move on already;
Learn the lessons and make new mistakes;
Be happy for others, there’s plenty to go around – abundance over scarcity;
Failure is proof that we are trying, it’s a numbers game, it will come when the time is right;
Be alone each day so you can actually hear that still small voice that will not be quieted until you listen;
You owe the world – fulfill your purpose for being here, no more excuses;
There are NO shortcuts, so stop falling for the “get rich quick” schemes and get to work.
“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” – Wilma Rudolph
You have what you need within you right in this very moment. You look good in grit. Do something with it.