One of the things that has always eluded me since a young age was this strange concept of grit. To me, grit was a very foreign concept growing up and it never dawned on me till my 30s how important a driving force it would be that determines how successful a person can be.
Something I’ve learnt over the years is that grit, regardless in whatever form or shape it takes, can truly be considered one of the foundational blocks of success. When you look at any successful entrepreneur or athlete, one common trait is seen in all of them – Grit.
In my reflections, so many things in life pass us by and we often let things go without a fight because we are overwhelmed by the odds stacked against us. There will always be an excuse as to why something didn’t work out, why a new year’s resolution slipped through our fingers, why things at work aren’t going as planned and why things in general seem to working against us. But maybe that’s how life determines who succeeds and who doesn’t. Perhaps that’s how nature intended it to be and the true test of our relevance stems from who would be willing to stick it out, rough out the edges and stay the fight. Fortune favors the brave, but I believe that success comes to those who keep moving forward even though a kitchen sink (hell, even the entire bath-tub) is thrown at them.
One of my greatest regrets in life was in never fully exploring my potential as a tennis player. Every time a session got hard or if I had lost in the first couple of rounds, I would convince myself that perhaps the game wasn’t for me, despite what everyone else was saying. You see, it wasn’t the game that was difficult, it was me that was putting imaginary and more often than not, unnecessary roadblocks in my own path. I would lose tight matches, crumble during big matches and severely underperform and instead of sticking it out, the natural step for me would be to walk away and tell myself maybe that’s all I would ever be capable of. Truly a wasted opportunity when I think about it now because tennis will and always will be my first love when it comes to sport. I am glad however, that I have begun to hit the courts more frequently now and my outlook on the game is very much different from before.
Sticking it out – such a simple phrase but truly difficult to achieve. I have come to believe that in the practice of grit, sticking around, staying the fight and just showing up is more than half the battle won. Just keeping at something, regardless how good we are at it now develops a certain kind of persistence that opens up new doors for success. And just to be clear, sticking around is by no means an easy feat and requires a certain kind of crazy, a different kind of patience and perhaps we all need that little bit of craziness to develop grit in our lives. Perfection means little as far as grit is concerned, in fact, grit probably ate perfection for breakfast because the latter can sometimes be used as an excuse for not trying harder or becoming better at something.
As I explore the concept of grit much deeper in my new series of posts, podcasts and videos, it brings me great pleasure and honor to share this journey with all of you. For those who identify with grit and why it is so important in life, stick it out with me and for those who are beginning to discover the beauty of sticking around, let’s push this one step further. If you are starting to embark on your own journey or wonder why grit is so important, bear with me and hear me out, it might just change the way you approach life and in pursuing your own dreams.
Thank you for reading.
Onward.
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