Low and behold my 10 simple rules to live a gritier life. Over the past year I have become increasingly interested in the concept of grit (almost to the point of obsession). I seriously cannot get enough of it. I find the concept of grit fascinating and am constantly trying to a) become grittier and b) surround myself with gritty people. As someone who lacks natural talent, but is willing to work very very hard I am captivated by grit. It is an extremely important ingredient in personal success.
If grit is still a foreign concept to you let me bring you up to speed. Grit is the is passion and perseverance for long-term and meaningful goals. It’s the ability to persist in something you feel passionate about and persevere when you face obstacles.
“The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is that I am not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked period. You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me, you might be sexier than me, you might have me in nine categories. But if we get on a treadmill, two things: you’re getting off first or I’m going to die. It’s really that simple.” –Will Smith
Grit is also the name of Angela Duckworth’s bestselling book (that I am still fangirling over). So I have spent a lot of time reading this book, and rereading this book, and listening to Duckworth’s TED talks and podcasts and it got me thinking. I consider myself a fairly gritty person, but I wanted more and that is why I strung together this list of 10 rules to live a gritier life.
TLDR version of her book is – it doesn’t matter how much talent you have, what matters is how hard you’re willing to work at that hard thing.
But seriously, make the time and read the book. Duckworth talks about five characteristics of grit in her book. But even if you don’t have any of the characteristics you can still pull from my list here to get a little gritier.
- Done is better than perfect
- Always go with the choice that scares you
- Be consistent in what you do
- Start before you’re ready
- Be intentional with your time
- Attitude is more important than ability
- Be thankful for what you have and fearless for what you want
- Surround yourself with a community
- Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits
- Rest
If you’re only going to pick one, my advice would be number 1. Done is better than perfect. This rule can literally be applied to any aspect of life. Whether it’s your workout, your day job, your art, your craft or literally anything else it is you do. I mean, Nike has built an entire slogan around this rule so it’s gotta be good advice. But hopefully you choose more than one and you feel inspired to continue working away at your passion, overcoming obstacles and getting things done. On another-but related note, Alex has some mini workouts linked here because again, done is always better. OH and you can pretty much do anything, if you work hard and long enough.
