Got Grit, Don’t Quit! The five characteristics to keep on and one argument to stop.
I grew up in an era where quitting was never an option… and those who quit were shamed for not trying their best.
The movie industry has done its fare share of filling our heads and strengthening our emotions around the theme of not quitting and the ensuing success of perseverance AKA “grit”
In the 1930’s Napoleon Hill spoke of the Darby’s, during the gold rush, and how they quit digging three feet from gold! Had they shown more grit, they would have found the fortune awaiting them three feet from where they stoped.
With all the hype around the need to persevere, and with the current COVID 19 literature on how you must emerge with a new skill or build a business and the expectation of being resilient; allow me to share and shed some views on the “grit, don’t quit” mentality.
There are five common characteristics identifying perseverance (based on Angela Duckworth work and research):
1. Courage: is being ready to face adversity, difficulty and challenges. Today we are globally facing adversity and very few of us were prepared for that and once we go through the stages of grief and settle then, courage is one requirement we all need. To build a new business, to tackle a challenging conversation with your spouse or business partner, courage is a characteristic that is acquired and a skill that can be built through practice, trial and error.
2. Conscientiousness: are you Achievement Oriented or Dependable? Do you look at the bigger picture and are ready for challenges both anticipated or not? Being able to take a step back and view situations from a distance allows you more flexibility and ability to adapt to overcome adversity. take note of how you tackle challenges. If you find yourself bogged down by details then take a break and zoom out to have a pan view over all the components of your situation. Be conscientious and build your achievement focus to strengthen your grit.
3. Long-Term Goals and Endurance: perseverance is about the end game. In this game you are running a marathon and not a sprint. When you reset your mind to long term goals, then you start to enjoy the process rather than getting frustrated and upset with the result (or lack thereof)
4. Resilience: is often identified as the capacity to stay positive while enduring difficulty. Yes, this is certainly one side of the definition, and I would like you to consider, that even the longest marathon runners require down time to recover and therefore, resilience becomes not the capacity to endure, rather the ability to rest and recover to bounce back with stronger grit.
5. Excellence vs. Perfection: If you're seeking perfection, you may be setting yourself to fail. Excellence in this sense is more favorable because you are doing all that you can do. My suggestion is to always seek excellence and thus allow room for growth.
Perfection will limit and frustrate you. I always say “done is better than perfect”… you will have time to debug and fine tune as you go along.
Thesis:
These five characteristics are governed by Passion, which can be seen as one of the elements relating to perseverance.
People are likely to invest more time and effort in that which they like, that which they enjoy and that which matters to them. That is the sense of purpose required to follow through on goals and projects.
It only makes sense that you won’t quit if you are following your passion. The idea of passion being the driver of grit is what got me thinking:
When and how can you tell, if the difficulties you are facing are challenges to surmount; or signs to quit?
In the case of the Darby’s, the issue was that the vein of gold seemed to have run out. It wasn’t an obstacle per se and had they not quit they would have caught that vein three feet later.
How do you know when it’s time to call it off? Do you simply consider a mathematical equation Passion + Opportunity = Results? or consider that "In both our actions and our thinking habits, tenacity is often the difference between success and failure, fullfilment and frustrations", (Philip Dow)'.
The one argument that can help objectively decide when to quit, is the ability to identifying the difference between tenacity and weakness; in the sense that success feels better than failure and most people want to avoid the emotions tied with failing.
Conclusion when to quit:
By this reasoning resilience and perseverance mean resistance, as opposed to having moral strength*, which involves mastery of a situation or a fate. Think about whether you find your self enduring and resisting or are you able to see clearly? Is the end game in sight? or have you lost your true north?
If you’re foggy and mostly enduring, with lethargy and negative thoughts governing your mind. If what you are pursuing, no longer serves your real purpose, then those are signs to quit.
Take some time off to rethink your purpose and readjust your goals.
Written by Tarek Azmi. Founder of Here’s Good News.
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Thank you for taking the time to read me and I look forward to your views and comments.
You may additionally take a one minute survey to identify your GRIT Scale. http://angeladuckworth.com/grit-scale/
I scored 2.8/5 in March 2019 and 3.6 on April 2020 because I want to be better and I "hustle"! Here’s Good News: You can make it by building your grit.
Take the survey and share your score as it would be nice to discuss various views on the topic.
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Notes:
Napoleon Hill, "Think and Grow Rich", "Three Feet From Gold", The Ralston Society, 1937, Ch. 1
Angela Lee Duckworth on Why Grit Matters, https://fs.blog/2014/02/angela-duckworth-grit/
Margaret M. Perlis, 5 Characteristics of Grit, How Many Do you Have, https://www.forbes.com/sites/margaretperlis/2013/10/29/5-characteristics-of-grit-what-it-is-why-you-need-it-and-do-you-have-it/#3f4983a64f7b
Philip E. Dow, Virtuous Minds, "In both our actions and our thinking habits, tenacity is often the difference between success and failure, fullfilment and frustrations"
Aristotle, Akrasia, Nichomachean Ethics, Book VII
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*Inspirational quotes and elements that drove my to write this article
How to build grit – talent doesn’t make you gritty
Grit is unrelated to measures of talent or inversely related
Growth mindset –carol dwek –the ability to learn can change with your effort.
Failure is not a permanent condition
“In both our actions and our thinking habits, tenacity is often the difference between success and failure, fulfillment and frustrations”