Spending time in wide open spaces does something amazing to your mind. Today, as I was peddling my bicycle down the beautiful Katy Trail in Missouri I had the wonderful opportunity to let my mind wonder freely while breathing in fresh crisp air, taking in beautiful new sites, and exercising my body.
As I peddled my bike down the worn trail today, I found myself thinking over the reasons that some people achieve their goals in life while others do not. There are obviously a lot of factors involved in the pursuit of a goal, but I wanted to find a common denominator of those who achieved them.
I finally came up with an answer that is in line with a message that I heard Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth give in a Ted Talk. The common denominator of success, across the board, she says, is Grit.
“Grit is passion and perseverance for very long term goals.”
Grit is having stamina. Grit is committing to your future day in and day out. Not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality!
Grit is more important than IQ. It’s also more important than things like social intelligence and good looks.
It’s interesting to note that grit has very little to do with talent. In fact, grit is usually unrelated to or even inversely related to talent.
So how do you develop grit? Researchers do not know exactly, but I believe that grit can be developed by regularly exposing the mind and body to challenging experiences. Your brain and your body will grow and adapt in response to challenge. Without the challenge, there will be no development.
If you are interested in developing more grit in your life, need some accountability and want to apply proven strategies towards achieving your goals, I’d love to help you. After my bicycle journey from Alabama to Montana is complete, I am going to be accepting a limited number of people into a new coaching program that I am developing. It is based on proven principles and can be tailored to you based on your goals and also where you currently are in the process of achieving them. If you would like to be at the front of the line when the coaching program officially begins, just send an email to robert@wagingwaronnormal.com and you will be added to the waiting list.
Please don’t just read this important message without applying the info. Come up with a game plan to start building more grit into your life today! I’d love to hear what you come up with, and please let me know if there is anything that I can do to help you.
Make today count!
Robert
