If you ain’t got GRIT, you ain’t got Sh*t!

Before you start reading this post, I would like you to take 30 seconds to complete Angela Duckworth’s short GRIT scale test. Don’t worry, at this point in time, you should care if you know what the word GRIT means … the questions are very straightforward and can be addressed to a 10 year old kid. REMEMBER, it’s very important that you take the test BEFORE reading the post, to get a more accurate reading on where you stand and how you can improve! [TAKE TEST]

So how did you score? Good news is, regardless of your score, you can always increase your GRIT. So what’s GRIT anyway? Well, before I answer that question, I would like to share some scientifically proven great news with you:

• Talent is not the determining factor for success!
• Intelligence / Self Discipline are not the key to remarkable achievement!

I’m not saying that these factors are not important to have; all I’m saying is that they are not the determining factors for remarkable achievement. This means, that to all those that think they’re not successful because they were not blessed with a certain kind of talent or simply not smart enough, I’m here to tell you that’s your lizard brain doing the talking!

So, if talent and self discipline are not defining factors of high achievement, then what is? GRIT is!

A bit of history. Psychologist Angela Duckworth was very suspicious when it came to qualities like talent and intelligence as reliable predictors for remarkable achievement. And with good reason! In 1926, psychologist Catherine Morris Cox worked with Lewis M. Terman and developed the Stanford-Binet IQ test, which is  is a Cognitive ability assessment used to measure intelligence. Cox identified a host of qualities, beyond raw intelligence, that predicted “greatness.”

Duckworth took a keen interest in Cox’s work, and was able to isolate two qualities that she thought might be a better predictor of outstanding achievement:

• The tendency not to abandon tasks from mere changeability. Not seeking something because of novelty. Not “looking for a change.”
  
• The tendency not to abandon tasks in the face of obstacles. Perseverance, tenacity, doggedness.

Duckworth coined these two qualities in what is now known as GRIT, defined as the “the perseverance and passion for a long-term goal”.

So drop the excuses of not being smart enough, or talented enough …. it all boils down to the GRIT you got.

To those of you that are friends with me on facebook, you already know that I have recently developed a keen interest in cycling. That’s why I decided to show the true essence of GRIT through the example of Moise Brutus featured in the picture above. Moise is a 23 year old kid, who lost both his legs and his left hand in a motorcycle accident and is now training for the 2016 Paralympics in cycling. This young man, suffering from a triple amputation, had this to say:

 “I feel like the foundation is set for me to accomplish anything I want to, as long as I believe and do the necessary work, there’s nothing I can’t do.” 

Do you realize now how silly you sound when you say I don’t have what it takes to be all I can be … to be great! Stop whining and get to it … YOU DO HAVE WHAT IT TAKES … in fact, YOU DO HAVE ALL IT TAKES TO BE REMARKABLE!

Think about it!