True Grit

Over time, grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness -- John Ortberg

So I've been thinking a lot about grit the last few days.  Not True Grit the movie, although the 2010 remake wasn't so bad if you can get over Matt Damon as a Texas Ranger.  I did like Hailee Steinfeld as the little girl lead.  I never saw the 1968 version, so I got nothing there.

Anyway, apparently what sets high achievers apart from other folks is grit - at least so says this article, and I'm inclined to believe it.  The article defines grit as "the disposition to pursue very long-term goals with passion and perseverance, sustained over time."  I definitely need to dig down to my inner grit...while my word of the year for 2013 was STRIVE, I think my year of the word for 2014 will be GRIT.

Sometimes I do things that exhibit some grit.  Like last week, after I whined about running in the cold, I actually got up, got bundled, and ran 6 miles in sub-30 degree temps at 5 am.  Here's a picture of me being awesome.  There's four layers of shirt under that reflector vest, 2 layers of pants plus my calf sleeves - not because I was worried about my calves, but rather to add an extra layer of warm.  The part of me that got cold was the half inch between the bottom of my running pants and the top of my socks.  Oops.

Other times, I feel a little less gritty.  Like today.  I had a 14-mile run on the schedule.  I did awesome through 10 miles, pretty good through 13, and then I just blew it the last mile.  No passion or perseverance there, no sir.  I realize I can't be perfect all the time, but I was a little disappointed to finish what started as a really good run so poorly.  At least mentally - the Garmin actually doesn't bear out how I felt about the end.

The other deal with grit is how to instill it in our kids.  The article is also about whether you can make someone grittier.  I ran a 5K with my younger daughter this past weekend - she took 4 minutes off her previous PR and she got 3rd place in her age group.  As we ran together, I talked to her like I talk to myself in my head, about persevering, about having fun, about striving, etc.  Dig deep.  Charge the hill.  There's only 0.5 mile left - you can do anything for 5 minutes, right?  I don't know whether that will help her with grit, but it definitely works for me.  I just need to remember to have those talks with myself, too.

As a last bit of mommy brag - here she is getting her award!  Yeah, kid!