What is Grit

“No matter how long it takes, I’ll go to whatever lengths.” – Eminem

What does it mean to have grit? What is grit? To me, grit is a highly devoted form of perseverance. It is when one is incredibly passionate about something. Maybe not the goal, but the outcome. In which they are strongly driven towards mastering the fundamentals long enough to become something. To get their outcome. To become something.

It is a double positive. A sustained persistence. A sort of animalistic trait. In which you don’t stop until the job is done. No matter what job. No matter how long it takes.

Dog with a bone mentality. Where the dog just keeps chewing and chewing. Almost realizing there is no bone left and still chewing.

It is commitment to the max. And when you truly commit to something, you cut off all possibility to the opposite preferred outcome. There is NO OTHER OUTCOME. Other than winning.

There is something about the word grit that takes one back to a time long ago. When people worked their asses off to put food on the table. Long work days. Rugged faces. And a sense of emotionlessness. I think of the old 1920’s pictures where no one had a smile. Everyone was essentially doing their best that day. Hoping to see another day. In which one day they could escape the grind of life and retire our their last years, resting from decades of hard work.

Ok maybe this wasn’t the best representation of grit, and yet I feel as if it takes us back to a time where people did have more grit. And we can learn from the past to have a bette future. In this case, cultivate more grit into our lives.

Essentially, I feel as if it is an unquestionable acceptance that the job is going to get done. And done right. Whether that is in your profession, person, spiritual or financial life. The job will get done, no matter how gassed out I may feel.

So when it comes to grit, and what having grit is so important, I feel as if it is actually more important to have grit than ever.

When you have grit, and combine it with the leverage of the technology we have at our hands today, we can do more than every. Become more than ever. Give more than ever. And leave a legacy bigger than ever.

If you are interested in seeing the 9 traits that make someone a person of grit, read on my friend.

9 Traits of Grit (Grit Meaning and Examples)

Think By Decades, Not Days

The long term mindset is key to grit, in my honest opinion. In order to be built to last, we need to see our goals being something that we will stick out for a LONG time. We will be committed to our goals no matter how long it takes.

Nothings screams mediocrity more than us wanting things to quick. And when we don’t get them as fast as we want to get them, we throw in the towel.

If we want to develop grit, there is no throwing in the towel. You either do or die. There is no in between.

This can be done by thinking in decades. Which we rid ourselves of the microwave mentality that is so engrained in our culture nowadays.

Long term thinking is so crucial. Because it is more realistic. You are accepting the fact, before even starting, that it is going to take a long time.

Commit to the accomplishment of the goal, not to any short term deadline. The timeline doesn’t matter, only the accomplishment of the goal.

When Your Are Tired, Push On

Pushing through when your tired builds mental calluses. Each and every time you do so, you will find it much easier to do so the next time.

You become your own coach. You are getting behind yourself pushing you. Like the one book says, feel the fear and do it anyways. You need to “feel the fatigue, and do it anyways.”

We need to be comfortable being uncomfortable. The more you do so, the more you will start to like the fact that you pushed through when you used to throw into the towel. You will start to embrace the grind.

It will become engrained into your DNA. You will see yourself as a person that has grit. That acts when they don’t want to. And of course people will start seeing this quality in you. Which will only engrain this new identity deeper into your being.

Courage Over Fear

Acting in spite, of fear. Each time you act in spite of fear, you become more and more courageous. Courage is built by us doing the things we fear.

We have all done things in life that we were terrified to do. And if we do it again later on down the road, it feels much easier and less scary.

For whatever reason, each time we overcome fear, we transcend fear bit by bit. To where we are less scared in other areas of our life outside of the things we were fearful of. Every choice and action affects everything else in our life. Every single area.

Make it a point to do 1 thing that scares you, every single day. If you need some help on ideas that you can use, check out this list I made just for you:

Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone (101 Practical Examples)

Let Go of Perfection

Perfection is just another form of fear. It is fear of acting at all often times. Everything has to be perfect before I start. Or I need to feel ready. Or I don’t know enough yet.

Failing forward is the key to overcoming perfection. Be willing to look like a fool. Be willing to not know enough. Be willing to feel like you are novice.

You can only become a master if you are willing to be a novice. You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.

Just SHOW UP, day in and day out. No matter how good or bad you feel. Consistently show up.

Be Single Minded

When we get to sidetracked, we spread ourselves too thin. We lose track of the end goal. We get lost in distractions. And we become weak.

In order to develop grit, we need to have a one track mind. Of course we can have multiple goals, but we need to set times on things we are doing. And commit to doing those things.

Put goals over fun.

If someone asks you to do something, and you know you need to be grinding, SAY NO.

It is simple, yet hard to do.

But when we don’t consider other alternatives, what are we left with? The things that we need to apply perseverance to. Do this day in and day out, saying NO to distractions, and you will become someone dedicated to the grind. A true definition of grit.

Be Passionate

The hardest workers we know are the ones who get lost in our work. They develop a razor sharp focus and high energy to push on when others can’t.

Of course, you won’t be passionate about everything you do in this life. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still have grit.

When you aren’t passionate about a task, be passionate about the outcome. Who is this going to positively affect that you love? What will this enable you to do that you have wanted to do?

For example a realtor may not be passionate about cold calling, but they are passionate about helping people with homeownership.

The REASON they are cold calling is that it is the necessary step to indulge in their passion at a later date.

Hence again, long term thinking. Our first rule of having grit.

Always have a light at the end of the tunnel. As this will help you become a hard enough worker to ultimately get to bathe in the light at the end of the tunnel.

Self Employed Mindset 

When you work for yourself, you are in the drivers seat of your life. This allows one to feel as if they are the master of their own fate and the captain of their own soul.

When we work for someone else, our future and livelihood is always predicated off of someone else. We could be fired, the company can go under, or we could get replaced.

Of course, when you are self employed, things like this can happen. But if it does, it is all on you. You have all the power. To make your life a smash hit, or a flop.

It gives you much more power and dominion over your life when you are making all the calls. You write the rules. You are driving the bus. You permit who gets on and who gets off.

You can drive as fast or as slow as you want.

Because ultimately, when someone else is driving the bus, you are a passenger. And passengers only have so much power as to where the destination will be.

Become self employed, first through a side hustle if you can’t go all in right away. Work in sales type jobs. Dedicate yourself to making your own way by being your own boss.

This way ALL the energy you are dedicating to the project will benefit YOUR business. What you put in is what you will get out. The same can’t be said about working for someone else. This will give you more perseverance power to put in longer hours in this life.

It will also make you think like some who NEEDs to get the job done. When humans are put in a situation of either dying or succeeding, they tend to succeed. They get creative and DO WHATEVER it takes to get the job done.

Which is essentially the true definition of grit. When your back is up against the way, you go through the wall.

If you can’t be self employed yet, see yourself as being self employed. Because we all essentially are. See yourself as your own entity in which everything you will affect how you get paid, promoted and rewarded.

If you do this, you will act as a stronger person in the workforce. Treat the people in your life differently. And advance in life a lot faster. Getting to a place where you are getting paid more for the grit that you cultivated through acting as if you are self employed.

Treat Pain As Your Friend, Not Foe

At the end of the day, someone who has develop true grit sees pain as their friend not their foe. It is in a sense, seeking out things in life that make don’t feel good.

Because in life, when you do things that are painful, you come out of the other side a stronger version of ourselves.

We are able to deal with things better and more efficiently. Bring more empathy to people going through tough times. And simply see things that most people feel are catastrophic, as mere challenges to be overcame.

The more pain you put yourself through, the more gritty you will become.

I mean look at working out, the harder you push your body, the stronger you become. But lets take this even deeper. One can choose to do s simple flat bench press. Where they use both arms. Or they can do single are bench press.

Both will most likely build a similar amount of muscle. But the single armed chest press will force one to engage their core more. Building stronger internal stabilizers.

The same is true with life. We can chose the path of least resistance. To where we may look the same on the outside. And yet when we go through the tough parts of life, and do so intentionally, we come out become much more stronger on the inside.

Which is where true grit originates. It is an internal job.

Either Win Or Lose (No Participation Awards)

Someone with a lot of grit sees life of a game of either winning or losing. There are no awards for participating.

Society has given us too much credit for simply showing up. Which of course this is part of the equation. But it is showing up to win. Playing to win. Fighting to win. And if you lose, you lick your wounds, heal, grow and come back fighting your ass off to win next time. Until you win.

Life is not a sport in which you are truly rewarded for mediocrity.

To develop strong grit, don’t give into mediocrity. Don’t do just enough to make it though the day. Or just enough to be fired. People that live life like this have empty lives. They get to the end of their life never really living.

People with grit have an aliveness to them. And this is cultivated by going hard, day in and day out. Playing the game of life to win. Wanting to win. And ultimately coming out victorious.

One Track Mind (Hold Onto One Thought)

It is well known that all spiritual teachers constantly preach that we become what we think about. Our thoughts literally shape our entire reality.

What we think about, we bring about.

The more you think about a car you want, the more you tend to see it.

The more you think about wanting a relationship, the more you see couples out. Hear talk about romance. And see things on the TV conducive to your thoughts about relationships.

In order to have grit, you need to hold on tightly to the things you want to get done during the day. One thought constantly held in your mind will manifest itself.

When you catch yourself drifting off and thinking about others things, bring your mind back to your goal for that day or hour. However long you want to grit it out on this, continue holding that thought in mind.

For example, if you want to do 3 hours of follow up calls, keep holding in mind that 3 hour timeframe.

When people try to distract you, go back to that 3 hour timeframe. It will be your mantra. When you are done with your first task, create a new mantra for what you want to get done and for how long it is going to take. Or how long you want to devote yourself to it.

The main thing is to know where you are going at all times. You are evaluating what you want in life that will bring you long term success and happiness. And once you evaluate it, you can hold onto thoughts that create massive action towards those goals.

Consistently do this day in and day out. Always be thinking about the things you need to get done during the day. Especially when you get off track. Go back to your thought makes you cognizant that you will need to get back after it now, or ASAP.

Grit Quotes (Quotes About Grit)

1. Grit Is sticking with your future, day in and day out, and not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years.” – Angela Duckworth

2. “Grit is having the courage to push through, no matter what the obstacles are, because it’s worth it.” – Chris Morris

3. “True grit is making a decision an standing by it, doing what must be done. No moral man can have peace of mind if he leaves undone what he knows he should have done.” – John Wayne

4. “True grit is staying in the game when others would have dropped the ball and left the park.” – Unknown

5. “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long term goals. Grit is sticking with your future, not just for the month but for years. And working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” – Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth

6. “Grit is the stubborn refusal to quit.” – Jonah Lehrer

7. “I won’t just have a job, I’ll have a calling. I’ll challenge myself every day. When I et knocked down, I’ll get back up. I may not be the smartest person in the room, but I’ll strive to be the grittiest.” – Angela Duckworth

8. “Heroes are never perfect, but they’re brave, they’re authentic, they’re courageous, determined, discreet and they’ve got grit.” – Wade Davis

9. “Grit is about having what some researchers call an “ultimate concern”. A goal you care about so much that is organizes and gives meaning to almost everything you do. And grit is holding steadfast to that goal. Even when you fall down.” – Angela Deckwork

10. “Being physically tough is measured by how many fights you win, but mental toughness is measured by how you react when all the chips are stacked against you. How fast you get back on track when life kicks you in the nuts. Any fool can win a fight, but it takes person with true grit, to never give up when all seems lost.” – Benjamin Bayani

11. “It’s going to take grit, and grind and desire. It’s a heart game. You can bring all the talent and say you’re going to depend on that, but thats only going to get you so far. Every piston has to be hitting in the engine to win. You have to execute.” – Bryan Larrison

Conclusion To How To Develop Grit

So there it is my friends. How to build grit, the 9 qualities that make someone a person with strong grit. And at the end of the day, the biggest message here that I hope I conveyed was one of acting like people acted before the internet. Before selfies. Before social media.

Old school work ethic. Where you rise and grind. You know you have a lot of work ahead of you. And you accept that fact, and get after it. Day in and day out. Over and over and over again. Committing to excellence.

This is truly the message I want to convey in most all the posts I do about rising up in this world. And developing yourself. Consistent, daily action. No matter how you feel. What time of day it is. Whether you are fully rested or running on fumes.

First things first. Rise and grind. Do what you KNOW needs to be done. And feel great at the end of each day because of it. This will all add up to you building very good habits that allow you to become a person with insanely strong grit.

Thank you for reading my friend.

Share with me your thoughts on the topic. What you liked or disliked about the post. And if you have anything to add which would benefit all of us in leaning how to have grit.

Chat soon.

With gratitude,

Chris