Motivation – Grit

Motivation is made up of drive, goals, and grit. Over the last two day I shared what drives me and how I set up goals, so today I will share my thoughts on grit.

What is Grit?

According to Angela Duckworth, author of Grit and grit researcher (aka grit expert), grit is “passion and perseverance for long-term goals.”

Another definition: Grit is “persistence, determination, and fortitude—the ability to continue with the journey no matter the difficulty involved.” – Steven Kotler

Grit is about holding the same top-level goal for a very long time. Furthermore, this “life philosophy,” as Pete Carroll might put it, is so interesting and important that it organizes a great deal of your waking activity. In very gritty people, most mid-level and low-level goals are, in some way or another, related to that ultimate goal. In contrast, a lack of grit can come from having less coherent goal structures.

– Angela Duckworth, Grit

Look at how goals tie into grit! The multi-level goal structure I shared yesterday feeds perfectly into having grit. The top level goal is the MTP, the mid-level goals are the HHGs, and the low-level goals are the daily Clear-Goals that feed everything else.

So, How Gritty Am I?

With the goals I spelled out yesterday, really freaking gritty! As in I scored a 99% on the Grit Scale in Duckworth’s book.

But, as she points out, grit is plastic, learned, and not necessarily true for everything in a person’s life. This leads me to today’s reader question…

“You have this passion for everything to make you the -est, any thoughts on where it comes from and why it hasn’t dimmed?”

You made me think on this one! Funnily enough, on the same day you asked, a new Brené Brown Dare To Lead podcast episode popped up in my Spotify. Who was she interviewing? Angela Duckworth! How serendipitous!

In the episode, they agreed that those with winding paths in life and career (like both of theirs and mine) end up being the grittiest. We learned what we did not like and in doing so have found what we are deeply passionate about.

Samplers end up with the most grit.

– Angela Duckworth

The grit is in the sampling.

– Brené Brown

Adding to this, David Epstein, author of Range, Why Generalists Triumph In A Specialized World, found that zig-zaggers (like myself) experience a sampling period in life. It may appear to not have much rhyme or reason but, over time, it actually is the fastest way to mastery.

How does this apply to my grit and motivation? 

I’m definitely a sampler and a zigzagger, especially in my earlier years! As a kid I was interested in everything and wanted to try everything, and I still love learning new and varied things. I sometimes wonder when all of my “things” will merge into one fantastically obvious life mission.

One of the questions (this one is a request, really) sent to me the other day was this:

“I want to hear some more about LA, and what that was like, what you were like then and how that has impacted now.”

My knee-jerk reaction was “no way, that was such a crazy time full of tumult and chaos, not related, ancient history!” But, I paused to think again…it actually has a LOT to do with how I handle the now! It is actually HUGELY important!

I can trace my grit back to my 12+ years in LA. This is the period after grad school up until David and I got married. This is where both of my boys were born, where I had lovely then ruinous relationships, and a wide variety of careers/jobs. This was the period of time when my relationship with my family deteriorated to its worst. I lived all over LA and Hollywood, immersing myself into the club scene, art scene, and incredibly interesting people scene. It was an extremely colorful period in my life. There were some amazing times, but I also made a lot of mistakes, learning from every one of them. Looking back through the lens of this question of “where my grit comes from”, I can see the power of the chaos now.

I was sampling!

Career Sampling

I tried a career as a music teacher. My degrees are in music so that made sense. I did not love it. I tried a career as a camp director. I had a history of working with kids. No, thank you. I tried a career as a personal trainer and PT assistant. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t feel like my calling. I tried a career as a massage therapist. I enjoyed it and met the most extraordinary people, but also not my life’s calling. I tried a career as a massage therapy teacher at a massage college. I had teaching skills and massage skills, so it seemed like a good fit. This was rewarding, but still didn’t feel right. Next, online fitness coaching. I was getting closer, melding my skills and interests. All the while I was playing in orchestras off and on, between pregnancies, searching for the passion to match my pedigree.

I liked almost all of these things, but why did nothing truly light me up? I sure knew what I didn’t want. While I may not have stuck with any of these careers, I certainly had the persistence and determination, elements of grit, to keep sampling! I felt like this wasn’t wasted time and would someday mean something.

Running

Starting when my now 19-year-old was just a baby, I began running ultras. That was my calm and steady amongst the merry-go-round of crazy. During all of those years, unless I was pregnant or nursing, I was always running. Out of the city, on the trails, hours long runs – this lit me up and fed my soul.

With running I found passion.

Ultras, and the training required, are long. 50km is a short race and they go up into the hundreds of miles and multi-day for the extreme ones. Ultrarunning requires the ability to be present – do not think about the 100 miles or 8 days in front of you, only run the mile you’re in. It also requires patience, persistence, fortitude, determination, and passion – all elements of grit. It is a long haul of relentless forward motion. Ultras require grit and ultrarunning is where I found my grit.

Sampling showed me what I didn’t want. The grit was in the sampling.
Running is where I found passion and learned patience, fortitude, persistence. The elements of grit.

Sampling Grit + Running Grit = FOUNDATIONAL GRIT

Having found grit from multiple sources, and now having landed on something I am 100% passionate about (my MTP I shared yesterday), there is no way this light is dimming! I am laser focused on achieving my goals and do everything to the best of my ability, to the “-est”, in order to get there as efficiently as possible. My daily Clear-Goals, the simple to-dos that will get me to my higher goals, are never a chore.

Drive + Goals + Grit = Motivation

Gratitude for the Gift + MTP, HHGs, Clear-Goals + Passion and Perseverence = My Motivation

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