Grit, Gratitude, and Greatness: The Secret to Overcoming Anything

 Dr. Angela Duckworth defines grit as the combination of both passion and perseverance. Grit cannot exist without the presence of both traits, although it is arguable that perseverance is the true key to grit. Duckworth wrote in her book “Grit” that “Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.” That quote highlights the importance of being resilient on our journey to find greatness. 

In most of our lives, we are faced with a multitude of obstacles whether it be a serious injury, a breakup, a failed exam, having children, or a billion other possibilities. The one common factor to those people who consistently overcome obstacles and able to be high performers is their grittiness. When we are passionate about something and have the mental resolve to never give up, there is little we can’t accomplish. It is important then to identify what we are passionate about and how to tackle the obstacles we face. 

Thomas Edison could’ve given up after failing to create the lightbulb 1,000 times, but on that 1,001st time he did it. LeBron James could’ve just accepted that he was just a kid from Akron and never become the greatest basketball player of this generation, but he did it. Phil Knight could’ve given up on his dream after his first company Blue Ribbon got betrayed and forced into a legal battle, but he went on to found Nike. The reason all of these people succeeded was their clear passion in life and their perseverance. They never gave up no matter what problem got in their way. They strove for greatness. 

As an athlete, typically, there is one overarching goal: WIN. Your passion is clear. You want to play your sport. You want to be good at it. Scratch that, you want to be great at it. Sport is a phenomenal way to develop grit. The long hours of practice, the heartbreak of defeat and the joy of victory, the support of teammates, coaches, and fans; these all tie into learning how to keep pushing when times are tough because you know what lies on the other side. 

Winning is fun. Everyone loves to win. It increases our self-confidence and self-esteem. Athletes get the love and adoration of fans, especially when you are winning championships or state titles. Every athlete would play forever if they could keep winning. Look at Tom Brady, he is 43 going on 30 because he is just having fun playing football still. However, winning doesn’t challenge us. Winning isn’t that obstacle that we have to overcome and be better than. We don’t develop grit by winning time and time again. No, we need to lose. We need to learn how to love to lose and appreciate the lessons in each loss. 

No one will say that losing is fun. No one will say “Wow! Look at the 10,000 hours that player put into practicing to become this good.” No one will appreciate the hard, gritty sacrifices you have made… but you should. You can find the silver lining in each day and every game. You can and should be grateful for losing, for the hours and hours of work you put into your craft, the injuries that come from pushing your body to the max. And here is a secret: gratitude can be applied to every aspect of our lives. 

Another great Angela Duckworth quote is “Nobody wants to show you the hours and hours of becoming. They’d rather show the highlight of what they’ve become.” Let’s begin to change that thought process. Let’s be proud of the work we put into becoming who we are. Let’s not be afraid of showing the grueling side of our journey. Not every moment of your journey is “Insta-worthy”, but every moment is worth being grateful for. 

3 Blessings Activity

I challenge you to incorporate this following skill into your daily life. Dr. Duckworth and I are both huge fans of this thing called “The 3 Blessings Activity”. All you have to do is say three things you are grateful for. Easy right? It doesn’t matter how big or how small the thing is that you are grateful for is. All that matters is that you are grateful. I use this in the morning to start my day off with being grateful so that I carry gratitude through my day. Some people prefer ending the day saying the three things that they are grateful for that happened to them that day. I encourage my athletes to use this whenever they are in a bad mood or lose a game. Try it several times a day if you want.

Doing the 3 Blessings Activity after a loss, a bad practice, or anytime you are facing an obstacle can help you see the good in it and begin appreciating the challenge. Your gratitude will help push you past the obstacle and in turn help you become the grittiest person in the room. How gritty and grateful you are will tie in to how great you can be. One final Duckworth quote, “Our potential is one thing. What we do with it is another.”

Greatness is a passion. Gratitude helps us persevere. Grit is what makes us.