WorkLife series- I learn how to walk...everyday

My most edifying experience to date has been watching my kids learning how to move in space, crawl, stand up, then take off and walk...and after that become these confident explorers continuously pushing their boundaries and thriving. Apart the bucolic looks of a reminiscing mother's eyes filled with love. This carries a deep meaning for me as an adult; to never stop growing, thriving and believing, with a good dose of self-confidence and realism. Does a baby, after falling a dozen times in one minute think; "walking is not made for me?" No!

So, why when we become adults we easily give up on dreams and plans? And why self-doubt instills through the cracks of our confidence?

Scientific studies among children, students up to young adults show that the differentiating factor for successful people is not talent, intelligence or environment. The defining factor is GRIT. For fact-finding about GRIT, you can watch this eye-opening TED Talk by Angela Duckworth.

What does grit mean? I'm adamant that grit comes in as many versions as there are human beings, all depending on our present, circumstances and aspirations. This is not a parenting guide to raise gritty kids (although I think it's important). This is rather sharing how I came about discovering GRIT and ways it transforms your daily life when you become intentional about it.

My version of GRIT is to pick one to three new projects per quarter and thrive in them. Something new, something challenging and where I can enrich my networks. At start, I was not intentional about it. Overtime, I could see the pattern and my need to move on to something new, go for a new goal. 

The benefits I get from it are countless, and I have embedded many new things in my daily routine. I find that when I allow myself the time, space and energy to focus on a brand-new topic, persevere, develop and learn it from scratch, all other aspects in my life benefit from it. I also find it so powerful to cross paths with people I would never have met otherwise.

A life-changing project I undertook 10 years ago had to do with my fitness. I jogged daily, 5 km in 30 min. I was doing it for at least two years. Every morning, 7am.. Never improved at it, never took the time to understand why. At some point I understood that I reached a plateau...and been there for the last 20 months. Better late than never. I started experimenting and found out about the mind-blowing flabbergasting High Intensity Interval Trainings (HIIT). At home, 30 min, no material. Beachbody programmes like Insanity, Asylum, TurboFire changed my life. Moves I didn't think my body was able to execute. I religiously followed my workout plan, despite everything else. Until today, I'm kind of addicted to HIIT exercises.

To my great surprise and pleasure, my trainer introduced me a few weeks ago to new Les Milles GRIT workouts. Yes! It exists! Looking back today, I'm so grateful for this project I undertook 10 years ago, because it taught me grit at the gym but also made me grittier with everything else in life. When things seem too big to handle, I break it down. Same thing I do when I'm huffing and puffing at the gym...just think about your next move, and the next one, one burpee at a time. This truly works. We know our brains are our best asset that separate us from the rest of the species.

Sometimes, I'm better off shutting down that brain that's telling me this is too hard for me. I'm gonna give. Don't throw the towel, pick it up to wipe your sweat and move on.

Self-discipline is largely the main ingredient for grit. When you commit to a project and you hold yourself accountable for it. You're not doing it for your partner, kids, colleagues or parents. Only for yourself, to walk in your own unbeaten paths. It doesn't matter to me if I'm the first or the gazillion person on this planet to undertake this project. What matters to me is to make my journey rich, enjoyable and feel good about it. Some projects are now stuck with me and have become part of my life. Some others I have enjoyed undertaking and parted with it after some time. In all cases, the various experiences brought a new sense of meaning and self-awareness accompanied with an insatiable need for self-betterment.

So now, I'm on to my brand new projects for this fall, the LinkedIn pilots series for which I'm posting these articles. I'm learning how to write, blog, edit, design and publish. I'm also re-launching the LeanIn Circle Luxembourg. Both a brand new experience for me. This morning, I just added learning to code (Python) in my list. It's gonna be a busy Autumn-Winter season.

Grittily yours,

Hind