Cultivating Grit

Many of us are conscious of the need for grit. Knowing how exactly to cultivate it isn’t always straightforward. Here are a few suggestions:

Set clear goals: Having a clear sense of what you want to achieve can help you stay focused and motivated, even in the face of challenges. Unclear goals easily facilitate procrastination. If you received ambiguous goals from your boss, practice seeking clarification. It’s better to ask than stay silent and jeopardise your workflow.

Embrace challenges: Rather than shying away from daunting tasks, embrace them as opportunities to grow and learn. An opportunity mindset opens you up to possibilities around getting the job done. Take note of the situations you tend to shy away from and identify the root cause of your hesitation to engage. Search the internet for ways others have easily tackled the same task. Better yet, approach a colleague and seek their advice. Often situations seem difficult because we decide to carry the load alone and forget that life isn’t a lone ranger sport.

Practice resilience: When faced with setbacks or failures, focus on what you can learn from the experience and use that knowledge to improve. Ruminating over failures will make it difficult to approach the same situation confidently the next time. Acknowledge the mistake but quickly identify the learning points from it and proceed forward. How you shape the scenarios in your mind will affect your willingness to revisit failed tasks.

Find purpose: Connect your work to a greater purpose or mission that inspires you and gives you a sense of meaning and direction. When everything else around you is pushing you towards quitting, a clear picture or understanding of why you do what you do can be the catalyst you need to nudge you towards completion.