What is "Grit?" and Why Do I Need to Know

May 8, 2023

Grit. What is it, and why do I need to know?

Grit: Courage, resolve, and strength of character.

Do you have it? Or maybe a better question is: Can you do without it?

“They told me you had true grit

and that is why I came to you.

I am not paying for talk.”

Mattie Ross, in True Grit

Grit. The thing that divides us.

Grit divides the give-ups from the never give-ups.

To be honest, I’ve been in both camps. As a kid, it was easy for me to give up. I was shy and awkward and all the things that you would imagine in a give-up. I didn’t care if there was success or achievement.

Then, I began to care.

When my never-give-up woke up inside, everything changed. Ability, enthusiasm, perseverence and yes, caring. They all chimed in at once and suddenly there was joy in the journey. There was hope for “better.”

So it wasn’t there. Then it was.

What woke it all up?

It was people stepping into my journey and introducing hope, vision, and grit.

Angela Duckworth says this:

“Grit is passion and perseverance for long-term goals… Grit is about having what some researchers call an”ultimate concern”–a goal you care about so much that it organizes and gives meaning to almost everything you do. And grit is holding steadfast to that goal. Even when you fall down. Even when you screw up. Even when progress toward that goal is halting or slow.

(Want to read the book? Angela Duckworth, The Power of Passion and Perseverence.)

Why Does Grit Matter?

If you don’t care about hope or joy or success or enthusiasm or goals or progress, it probably doesn’t.

But I’d never let you say that.

You’re here with me right this minute, and I’m insisting that you acknowledge the truth — that you do care, and you want to develop more grit.

Oh, those of us who have had a few bumps in the road — we have a little grit, don’t we? But there’s more. More grit to be had.

Let’s go for it. If you’re already on board, kudos. Once you start thinking about grit, it’s way bigger than you thought.

And if you’re intrigued, read about the lady with the strange name who has made the study of “grit” her passion.

Glad you came to read today.

Glad you are into “grit.”

What is it you’ll do, now that you recognize it?

Passion and perseverance for long-term goals… Having an ultimate concern, a goal you care about so much that it organizes and gives meaning to almost everything you do… Holding steadfast… even when you fall down…screw up…when progress is slow.