Grit from the Inside Out Continued
According
to Dr. Duckworth the author of Grit,
knowing that the little nuances that non-experts can’t see is what keeps the
experts going, and thinking back to developing a passion and career that goes
along with that passion, one can now more clearly see how it could be difficult
to know if something is a good fit until you try it for a while and learn to
see some of those nuances… And furthermore, learn to enjoy those nuances…
Learning to stick it out long enough to really learn what
hard work is all about is a good thing. Finding joy in the simple nuances that
others can’t see is also a good thing. And taking your time to develop your
passion over the long run is also a good thing too. All of these are good
because they build us grit, and in the end make us happier and more successful.
Besides, think of the opposite of this. Mindlessly going through the motions
without every really improving can be its own form of suffering. And many would
say that this kind of suffering is way worse than the 10,000 hours or 10 years
of deliberate hard practice that it took them to excel and become an expert.
So, what is this deliberate practice and how do we get
the most out of it so we too can march down that 10,000 hours or 10 year road
to greatness? Well, to start, experts try to do things that they can’t yet do,
fail, and then learn what to do differently. And how do they do this, you ask?
First, they clearly define a stretch goal, then they use their full
concentration and all-out effort. Next, they look for immediate and informative
feedback. Then they use repetition with reflection and refinement until they
master their stretch-goal. The once difficult then becomes ordinary for them.
Finally, they repeat the process of picking a new stretch-goal and do it all over
again.
I know this doesn’t sound easy. As a matter of fact, I
know this sounds hard. And that’s because it is hard. However, there are a few
things that we can do to make the hard more doable. First, set a routine where
you do these hard things at the same time every day. Routines are godsend. You
get up every morning, lace up your running shoes and just go. It’s just what
you do… Having to decide every single day to do a hard thing would be a
nightmare for most of us. Few of us would ever consistently follow through on
doing our hard deliberate practice that is needed to make us champions if we
had to make up our mind about it every single day. The brain is very good at
coming up with excuses for not burning extra calories.
In addition, believe it or not, we all can learn to
embrace challenge rather than fear it. And we can embrace this embracing by
simply relieving ourselves of our own judgement that gets in our way of
enjoying the challenge we really want to and really need to face.
Let’s think about this for a moment. When we were babies
or even toddlers, learning from mistakes didn’t bother us at all, right? So,
why do we let it bother us so much now? If we did that as a baby we would have
never stood upright, taken those first few steps, and then kept right on taking
those steps right into a walk and then eventually a run. Doesn’t the grownup
version of ourselves have a spine just as strong as or even stronger than the
baby and toddler version of ourselves?
The truth is that not only are our backbones bigger and
stronger, but so is our grit as we age and mature. Growing grit is just a
natural progression. When we are young, we don’t really know yet what we want.
As we age we experience enough to know a lot more about the world and what we
really want. Furthermore, we better understand the big picture and the role
synergy and legacy plays within it.
Are you willing to put in the time and effort through
hard deliberate practice to grow some real grit and become that expert?
Dan Blanchard is an
award-winning author, speaker and educator. You can learn more about him at: www.GranddaddysSecrets.com.
thanks DB
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