"Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction."
John F. Kennedy
I am very grateful that whatever upbringing I had established a trait in me that has caused me to be called 'a dog with a bone' many times! Until today I have thought this was a bad thing!
But YAAA, an article in the August 2, 2009 Boston Globe called "the Truth about Grit' has vindicated me! It's not IQ that determines your success in life, but your 'grit factor', your ability to be single minded, to persevere over adversity, persist in the face of failure, to focus on the long term goal and do stuff that may not always be fun!
Jonah Lehrer is a brilliant author ("How we Decide") who summed up the article by saying "Woody Allen once remarked that 'Eighty percent of success is showing up." Angela Duckworth points out that's it not enough just to show up; one must show up again and again and again."http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/08/02/the_truth_about_grit/?page=1
Duckworth, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, has been researching 'grit ' and self control and self esteem for years. She tested cadets from Westpoint Military Academy and the finalists of Scripps National Spelling Bee in a search to discover the impact of grit defined by her as "trait-level perseverance and passion for long-term goals."
Grit is setting a specific long term goal and doing whatever it takes to reach the goal, it's the ability to get up and keep going. If you read stories of people who made earth shattering discoveries and you will find grit, they 'failed' 700 times and kept going….they perceived their 'failures' as successes in finding out what does NOT work!
It seems that to climb the corporate ladder or for success in any arena of life, the qualities of self control, perseverance, persistence, focusing on the long term goal, and the discipline to keep going even when it's not fun at all - may pay off more than IQ.
Perseverance, self control, willingness to work hard towards a goal and conscientiousness must be there for success. High IQ is optional it seems!
This is interesting research particularly in the time of the 'GFC'. A good friend of mine in the USA is amazing. She has been through several desperate times in her business, but her relentless faith in making things work, her vision of what she believed she could do, her turning up with enthusiasm each day have meant that she not only survived the GFC but has come out much stronger and with a larger company. She never gave up. And at times it would have been easy to do that for her.
What about your life? Has the GFC or personal GFCs, general family and financial challenges, made you feel you want to give up? Is it too hard? Because maybe now is the time to reassess your 'grit' levels!
I was blessed to always believe that I could do whatever I wanted to as long as I did the work. And it has worked pretty well! I never give up! It drives my husband nuts. LOL. I think the other secret is to do the work with cheerful enthusiasm. I have learned so much along the way.
This year coming back to Australia and for the first time in 20 years and not having someone wonderful to help me , has not only taught me a new appreciation of what wonderful Somer and Julianna did for me, but given me a new sense of control , as I have had to do everything!
Including marketing and learning about twitter and other social media mediums. I may not have wanted to learn quite as much! But I am grateful for the experiences and the learning.
After all, learning is what keeps us young. Right now, I must be about 12!
But it isn't just success at work that requires grit. It's relationships as well. How many times would it have appeared easier at the time to give up on a relationship? And yet you stuck with it and worked through the lessons only to find that the richness and joy that comes from the efforts of that work create a relationship far better than you ever imagined! If you had given up, it's on the cards that you would have gone through it all again in the next one.
So what do you want in life and what are you willing to do to have it? Do you have a passion for something that you have always wanted to do? A goal you have always wanted to achieve? My next one is to play the harp so people actually want to hear me play it! LOL and once I have done that, I want to learn to paint gum trees. I figure I will start that at about 65. Then I want to learn to ballroom dance. I think that's a good plan for me as I am older cos it will keep me young and fit!
The good news is that because I am like a dog with a bone, I know I will do it! And with this new research, I am even more certain I will do it!
The article in the Globe also mentioned Carol S. Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University who has proven that praising children for the effort they put into things they do actually has more impact than recognizing them for their intelligence! So celebration of what it takes to keep going and do the work is critical for all of us, it's a powerful motivator to do better,
Celebrate the small achievements along the way as you do the work, you are moving in the direction of your future goal and you may have to start again and again, but seen in the light of the success qualities of grit makes everything look different.
So start now! Set some long term goals. Pursue them diligently and with self discipline. (I just remembered that I did very well at University, not because I was really smart but because I studied every night for 4 hours and 4 hours every weekend! While my friends went out, I stayed home and studied! But then when I graduated, I had the choice of going anywhere I wanted. I never saw it as a sacrifice). Now I just need to apply the same grit levels to my exercise program! LOL
Recognize your own efforts and persistence and that of your family, especially children. Have family conversations about this newsletter and tell stories of people you know who have persisted despite difficult circumstances.
Now is a great time with the world economy as it is and all the trials we face to practice, at work and home- the 'new' secrets of success and see what joy comes from knowing you deserve the success!
Of course I should mention discernment here! I will only give up once I have done absolutely everything possible to achieve my goal and if is not possible, or not the best thing for me, I have the wisdom to give up, only then!! Knowing when to let go is just as important as grit for real success, in all areas of life!
Oh yes, and the new research from neuroscience teaches us that we CAN change, we can actually rewire our brains, it just take focus, attention, repetition and celebration. So if you have never had a lot of grit, you CAN teach your brain how to do it! YAAAAA
So it's all up to you, you can do it if you want to! How exciting!
THIS MONTH CONSIDER: What is your GQ! Your grit intelligence? And can you apply it to any exercise in your life!
WORDS OF WISDOM: Decide what's really important to you, and go for it, again and again and again!
WISDOM OF THE WORD: Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
