Ep 245 | Grit - The NDO Core Value Word #1

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Let's get into it. Today we are going to kick off a series that we're going to be doing on core value words. Now this series, it's not going to be one podcast after the other. I will just periodically call out a core value word. That'll be the theme on the podcast. And today we're going to kick this off with one of my favorite words, one of my favorite core values. And that word is going to be grit. Now let's back up. What do I mean when I say core values? Core values are the principles that guide our decisions, guide our behaviors. Maybe we have core values in our business. Maybe we have core values in our, you know, for our families. Maybe we have core value words just as individuals. Like we have some self core value words, right? Things that we use to guide ourselves as individuals. Grit is one of my favorite of the bunch. And that's why I want to start here. When I think around grit, while there's no better place or better person, I should say, to reference as it pertains to grit than Angela Duckworth. Who's a psychologist that literally wrote the book on grit. She wrote a book a handful of years ago called Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. And that book, I think, really changed the vantage point or the view of many individuals, myself included, around what really is a— is the predictor for success. I think maybe we had, we had thought around this, this term grit before, but Angela did a phenomenal job in defining it. And really pointing out that grit is more important to success than anything else, including talent, environment, or anything else like that. Being gritty is the key component of success. Now, when we talk about grit, what do we— what does Angela really mean? How did she define grit? Angela defined grit as a combination of passion, and perseverance. Passion involves having a long-term goal and sticking with it, while perseverance is the ability to overcome challenges and setbacks and obstacles along the way. So that's how Angela defines grit. And again, she says grit is truly a predictor or the predictor of success. Her research suggests that grit is actually more reliable than most anything, including talent. Right? We've all heard this phrase, or maybe you haven't, but you know, I think about time on task will trump talent. Time on task is a function of grit. Now, how do we become gritty? Right? Like if we believe that grit is a predictor of success, how do we go about becoming grittier or just developing grit? How do we develop grit in those we care about? Maybe those in our business that we're coaching or aiming to build, maybe our, maybe our kids, maybe our peers, whoever it may be. How do we aid in developing grit? Let's go through what Angela describes are the steps we could take. Number 1, we've got to discover and develop our passion. So we've got to truly identify an area or a field that genuinely interests us and excites us because passion is a fundamental component of grit. So we got to find out what we love because what we love will in fact fuel our perseverance. Remember we said passion and perseverance, you got to kind of like what you're doing. You got to discover it and then you got to develop it further. So when you think about someone that is gritty, odds are that person is passionate, very passionate about something, the thing that they're pursuing, and that passion is fueling their perseverance. Next, if you want to become gritty, you got to have a long-term goal. You got to maintain a long-term goal. You got to set clear, specific, long-term goals that align with that passion because grit involves sustained effort over time. So we gotta have a well-defined objective so that we could stay focused and we could stay committed. Next, in terms of developing your grit or being gritty, we gotta practice and practice deliberately. So I don't want to just show up to practice. Practice has got to be purposeful. It's gotta be focused efforts that are going to improve our skills. So it's not just about putting in the hours, but also practicing with the intention of getting better. I think about Kobe Bryant, who we've talked about here at No Days Off. When Kobe would practice, right, Kobe would practice the basics, but he wasn't going through the motions. He was flat out practicing the basics because the basics are what made him the best in the world. I think about Steph Curry. You know, we talked about him here before. He shoots from 3 feet away from the basket over and over and over again, then 5 feet, then 7 feet, then 10 feet. Is the greatest shooter in basketball today. That is deliberate practice. Next, if you want to be gritty, you got to develop a growth mindset. What is a growth mindset? It means seeing challenges as opportunities and learn and grow from those opportunities rather than let them be setbacks. Your abilities are developed through dedication and hard work and persevering overcoming obstacles. That's a growth mindset. Next, you got to focus on the process, not just the outcome. Gritty individuals pay attention to the process of improvement and development rather than solely focusing on the end results. If you're going to be gritty, right, grit is about the journey as much as it is about the destination. So you got to find joy in this process so you can sustain your motivation. Kind of goes without saying, if you're going to be gritty or develop grit, you've got to build habits and routines. I think we already know this, right? Consistent daily actions contribute to the development of grit by creating a structure that facilitates, truly facilitates sustained effort over time. The last couple of things I think about, uh, and as Angela has shared in her book, if you want to develop grit, you've got to surround yourself with support, supportive individuals. I know that should be no surprise. We talk about your environment here at No Days Off all of the time. If you want to develop grit, you've got to hang around gritty individuals. You've got to seek out mentors and coaches and a supportive community. You've got to have a network of individuals who share your passion. Maybe not the exact same passion, like they're not passionate about the same subject necessarily, but they have your same degree of enthusiasm. They can offer guidance. They could offer encouragement. Because that can be a very crucial thing in developing and sustaining grit. And then lastly, you got to understand on this path to developing grit that effort counts twice. Now, what does that mean? You got to recognize the idea that effort not only builds skill, but it also contributes to achievement. So you got to acknowledge the value of consistent effort over time as it plays this dual role. In both skill development and goal attainment. Now incorporating all of these things I just described into your life, it allows you to cultivate and enhance your grit. And in enhancing your grit, you ultimately are increasing your chances of achieving long-term success in whatever it is you are in fact pursuing. First core value word, grit. My question for you then today, are you showing up with grit? Would you describe yourself as one that has grit? How about those around you, those you hope to lead and influence? Do they have this key predictor of success and core value word grit? Do they have this? Because grit can be developed. Yes, there are definitely some people who were raised a certain way or maybe have specific characteristics that lead to maybe, you know, a bit more, you know, I would say a bit grittier behavior, but that doesn't necessarily mean that just because you're in the environment or you were raised a certain way, you have it. Just means maybe you're more prone to build it. But for those that didn't grow up like that, it is still very much attainable, but you've got to be purposeful around developing this core value. You've got to be thinking about your passion and discovering it and making long-term goals and practicing deliberately. You got to persevere. You got to focus on the process, build habits, and hang out with those that are on the same journey. And then most importantly, I would say, as it pertains to grit, put in the, put in the work. There is literally no substitute for hard work, especially early in your career. Yes, we all want to work smarter, but I'll tell you what, putting in time, time on task is going to trump talent, especially when talent doesn't want to work hard. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.