Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation, translated the New Testament into German while confined to the castle of Wartburg. Beethoven wrote his best masterpieces after going deaf. Thomas Edison, at 66 years old, rebuilt his invention factory after it burned to the ground.
Resilient grit marked each of these leaders. They learned to bounce back after every setback. Hardship is the curriculum in the school of experience. It has the power to refine the very best. Those who are shaped by it reveal the greatest can-do attitudes.
The Apostle Paul, while in prison, wrote letters to the new Christians and offered extraordinary perspectives from his prison cell. “I can do all things through Christ, Who gives me strength.” After enduring every hardship imaginable – rejection, beatings, shipwreck, imprisonment, snakebite, and much more, Paul refused to have anything remove his grit!
All resilient grit-filled people will face hardships, setbacks, pain, and difficulties. But those who have inner resources and outer support will have the grit to run the marathons of life. Inner resources are the gifts that we receive from our generous Lord. A relationship with our Creator, prayer, His Word, gratitude, joy, and the peace that comes with these resources will provide us the strength to move forward. Our families, friends, coaches, counselors, and teammates will provide the outer support that will assist us on our journey. We have been designed to need others and realizing it will help us find the grit we need to accomplish our tasks.
Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” While resilience helps us bounce back, grit helps us thrust forward, no matter how high the mountain that stands in our pathway.
Angela Duckworth, Psychology Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, observed, “Grit is passion and perserverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. It is sticking with the 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.”
To reach Resilient Grit, we must understand our purpose, our perspective, and our people. When we fail to believe in ourselves and stop seeing our efforts as very important, we will begin losing interest. Resilient Grit requires a purpose that is clear, convincing, and compelling. It has to be something worth giving our time, talents, and resources to; otherwise, we will throw in the towel long before the task is complete and when the going gets tough.
The late Edward Banfield, Professor at Harvard University, discovered that long-term perspective was the single most accurate predictor of upward social and economic mobility in America. Long-term perspective enables us to keep our eyes on the ball, regardless of what life throws our way.
Understanding “our people” almost sounds exclusive, but it is critical that we choose carefully those who will share our efforts. Long, hard roads can become discouraging over time. Even for the most dedicated person, life can beat the life out of us and make us want to quit. To remain resiliently gritty, we must surround ourselves with people who will coach and encourage us when we are feeling the most discouraged. Most people will not want to take the difficult trip with us, so we must carefully look for those who will truly help.
Once we have found “our people”, we must provide them with the needed resources to carry out his or her responsibilities. Those resources might include tools, equipment, supplies – anything necessary to do the work. According to Gallup, having the right equipment to do the task is one of the keys necessary to increase helpfulness to the cause.
Resources alone are not nearly enough; we must provide training. Some training is transactional. It is the kind of training needed for doing specific tasks in a specific role – our pilot needs to know how to fly an airplane. They need training to carry out the transactions their jobs require. But people also need transformational training. These skills require leadership, teamwork, and emotional intelligence training. These skills are valuable in every type of role. Be sure to provide “your people” with both transactional and transformational training.
And finally, every resilient gritty person must provide team members with decision making authority. Order takers are not nearly as important as people who can think for themselves, decide and act on their own. When they do not have the authority to make decisions, you can never outgrow yourself!
Can-do resilient gritty people never quit until the task is completed. Their resilient grit thrusts them forward when it would be easier to abandon ship or abandon ship by trying to do it all ourselves! We need each other to see accomplished what we can envision!
