Grit is a trait that we commonly use and require in life, but can it be used to determine whether we are successful or not? Today’s blog in the “What do we mean by Success?” series is going to look at what we mean by ‘grit’, the effects that it has on our life and if we can use it as a measure of how successful or not we are in life!
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Today’s blog is the fifteenth blog in the “What do we mean by Success?” series, which is going to look at our grit and its impact on success for people. Grit is commonly mistaken as being the same as resilience, but when we look at them closely, there are some clear differences that distinguish the two.
We talked a lot about Resilience in last week’s blog, defining it as the ability to get back up again after being knocked down, and while there are some similarities to resilience and the definition of grit, which we will look at in just a little bit, they are not the same thing. They are terms that heavy relate to each other but when we look at if we can use them as a measure or not for success, we have to look at them separately, wouldn’t you agree?
Grit is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as ” courage and resolve” and can be used as a good test of one’s “strength of character.” At its core, your grit is your ability to stick at something until it is finished. So to put it into perspective, if you had a really difficult project that you were working on, your grit would be the trait you have that helps you stick with it from start to finish.
Resilience links in here as if you face many setbacks for a piece of work, then you need to get back up and try again, but they are different terms. The question here arises, how do we measure one’s success simply using grit?
Would it be as simple as saying you have more grit than somebody else, so that means you are more successful than them? How would we even compare people’s grit? Do we look at their life and all of the things they have done, compare that to somebody else, then use that as a determiner of success? Would that be a ‘fair’ thing to do? If not, what else could we do?
Do we take a look at the different types of grit, plus whatever else is going on in somebody’s life? People may have more grit at work, compared to what they have at home, or vice versa for that matter, is that taken into our consideration? What about all of the other things going on in their life?
If somebody is super busy or stressed then is it fair to use that as their grit capacity? Is it not a fair thing to do? What about their job satisfaction/interests? If they love their job and the work that they are doing, then they would usually have more grit to get the projects that they are doing finished, wouldn’t they?
If we are looking at one’s grit, do we look at the complexity/duration of a project as well? If somebody is working on a smaller project compared to someone working on a very big project, then does that play a part in our decision? If somebody has a shorter project, then could it be argued that they would have more grit for that piece of work as it can be finished much faster than the bigger project?
From the first few parts of this blog, we can see that it is a much bigger topic than it would appear as at first. When we look at grit, there are so many contributing factors, that it can actually be hard to ever see how one would be able to compare their grit against another, in any fair or balanced manner.
Are we going to take life experience into account? If somebody has gone through a lot of different things in life, then firstly they would be more resilient, but wouldn’t they also have more grit? When we get knocked down in life and have to show resilience to get back up again, it usually does increase our strength of character, which is what our grit is, definition-wise.
So, back to the question at hand, can we use our grit as a determiner of whether or not we are successful in life? Well, the answer itself is a matter of opinion, I do not think that we can, but if you do, that is alright too.
Personally, I do not think that there is a fair way to use grit as a comparison between people and success, so in my opinion, I would not use it as the sole factor when looking at success. I would use it as a part of a larger group of factors, just not by itself, as I do not believe it to be fair in any way.
As I say in all of the blogs in this series, success is a small word that carries with it a much larger definition. Success means something different to each person, which is why it is such a nice subject to write about. There are no wrong or right answers to this topic, it is more just what your view is and if you can justify why you think the way you do.
That’s all I want to talk about in today’s blog! What do you think of today’s blog? Do you think we can use our grit as a measure of success? Are you still enjoying the “What do we mean by Success?” series? Are there any other blogs/topics that you would like to see me cover? Let me know your answers to the questions above and your thoughts on today’s blog, either in the comments below or through our Facebook page!
Thank you all for reading and I hope you have a great day!
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This is a really interesting post !
I do believe that measuring success should be more than just counting achievements or numbers (followers, money, etc.).
You are not failing because you did not achieve that one goal and you are not failing because you have less x than x.
You are succeeding because you are trying, you are working towards your goals and as bad as it might feel & as hard as it can get, you are still here trying.
But I do agree with you, it is not the sole factor for assessing success the part where the goal is actually reached is also obviously a big part of success.
However I think it is a big factor in measuring the size of your success once you do get “there”(wherever that might be for you). The more you have had to fight and sweat to get to that place, the sweeter the victory.
At the end of the day though, I think it’s always just a matter of perspective and what you decide you want/need to celebrate.
I think it is important to celebrate all the small victories as well as the big ones because you need that to keep you moving forward.
Otherwise, it can often become overwhelming quite easily and that flame of yours can burn out so quickly.
It’s a form of self-care 😉
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Thank you Chloe! I’m really enjoying writing it!
I completely agree! Measuring success off of one’s metrics will only lead to you undervaluing the success that you have actually achieved in life!
In my opinion, there are lots of different factors and kinds of success, and with all of them comes a new meaning and definition to each person. How would would look at their professional success may be completely different from how they look at their personal success, for instance. I feel like having that goal that we want to hit is key, I actually talked about it in a recent blog, but the key is not to compare yourself to others as what we tend to do as people is overvalue the success of others and undervalue our own successes.
It is all a matter of perspective! It’s why it is such a nice series to write! Learning how to accept and incorporate your view and mindset towards a more positive attitude can help, but at the end of the day, it is what success means to you that decides your point of view!
If you would like to write a blog on what success means for you, I’d be happy to publish it as a guest post 🙂
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That’s definitely it : everyone has their own truth. With your own path comes your own way of seeing and feeling things and depending on who you are and what you want from life, things take on different meanings.
Thanks for the opportunity! I would definitely love to write a guest post about success!
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Super sorry I am late replying Chloe, the last few days have been non-stop! I’ve completed redesigned the page and all!
That would be amazing! If you would like to write it and email it over to me, I’d be more than happy to post it!
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That’s more than okay, James. I know how it is! Haha I’m on a weekend off right now but if it’s okay, I could have it ready at the start of next week🌈
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Thank you! No problem at all, send it to me whenever! Was going to say, you have super speed if you got it done by the weekend haha!
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I can be quite a fast worker alright haha I used to be the best at last minute work back in school 🔥 will try my best to fit it in my work schedule and email you as soon as possible. Thanks again!
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Hope the blog is going alright Chloe!
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I finished it alright. Took me a few days to leave my holiday brain behind and get back to work but I worked rather fast on it then haha did you not get my email?
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Hello Chloe.
I am terribly sorry, I just noticed that the emails did come through, but for some reason, they got put in my spam folder. I am really sorry, it has been a really busy week and I completely forgot to check the spam folder.
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Oh it’s okay, no worries at all ❤ it could be my fault as well as it’s a new domain maybe I haven’t configured it perfectly. No need to panic though haha shit happens 🌈
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Thank you! Can’t wait to give it a read through! I’m thinking of using it for this weeks “What do we mean by Success?” blog as well!
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Take your time! I hope you enjoy it 🙈
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Thank you! I’m sure I will! I’m taking the rest of the day off today after I post today’s blog, but I will read through it and see if I can get it up for next week tomorrow! I have only had a quick skim through at the moment, but it looks great!
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Awesome! I have 2 more posts to write today one for my art blog and one for my personal one so no more holidays for me haha enjoy the day off!! I’m excited to see my writing somewhere other than my own platforms hehe
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Busy day for you then! I need a good day off haha, been working all week! I’m looking forward to seeing the new posts! I definitely will! They’ll be great!
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