It’s a Gritty World
We all know about one kind of grit.
If you go to the beach for the afternoon, you will find grit in your car, between your toes and maybe in your bed even after a shower!
There is another form of grit.
The personal traits that are often characterised by bravery, spirit courage, consistency, toughness, tenacity, strength and passion.
You may have heard people label others by saying, ‘he or she is really gritty.’
‘Grit’ is a word that attracts different opinions. Some associate the trait of ‘grit’ with aggressive, achieve-at-all-costs, tread-on-other-people-behaviour. That’s not the kind of grit I’m talking about.
When I think that someone is ‘gritty’ I see it as a good thing. Not all grit is equally good though; I say there is grit and there is even better grit.
Conscious Grit: from stuck to unstoppable
I’ve created a model called Conscious Grit: from stuck to unstoppable. The model has three main components; the zone of unconscious grit, finding and catching a tipping point and the zone of conscious grit.
Have you ever felt that you are spinning your wheels, wading through treacle or swimming with your legs tied together? That’s what it feels like when you are in the zone of unconscious grit. You are trying to get your wheels onto firm ground, you want to walk faster, but the treacle holds you back and you ache from only using your arms to swim. In this zone you are trying really hard. You are tenacious, persistent, resilient, determined and a little courageous. Frustratingly, you just can’t make the changes you need to achieve what you want to.
But when you add in, the traits of being future focused, committed to planning and being more courageous, you will be in the zone of conscious grit. That’s where you get momentum and you can see and feel the progress you are making toward your life goals. You will be persistent, resilient, determined and tenacious – but at a new level – inspired and motivated by being in the zone of conscious grit. You will leverage from tangible changes, soaring self-esteem, and confidence in your own decision making.
Many of us get stuck in parts of our life. Maybe you want to get unstuck and just don’t know how. My key is in my model.
The first step to getting unstuck
First, you need to decide that you want to make the change – to get unstuck. Consider this question: on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most severe, what’s the negative affect on you right now? Based on that judgement, do you want to change? If the answer is ‘yes’, then think about your level of commitment to getting unstuck?
Can you relate to any of these:
- I can’t get unstuck
- I hope I can get unstuck
- I will try to get unstuck
- I want to get unstuck
- I will do the best I can to get unstuck
- I am doing the best I can to get unstuck
- I am doing whatever it takes to get unstuck
I have designed some simple personal projects that expand on these concepts. If you would like them, please send an email, and I wil send them to you.
Once you have decided that you do want to get unstuck and you know your level of commitment, you need to be vigilant for a tipping point. The tipping point will get you from the zone of unconscious grit to the zone of conscious grit.
In my next Blog, I will tell you how to find and catch a tipping point.
