On The Subject Of Grit
“Day after day,” an important part of the lyrics from Dobie Gray, in the hit song Drift Away. Day after day it feels like the grit required to get through becomes more challenging. People start their Monday and hope to survive it all until Friday.
Not bad for a Monday.
It’s hump day!
Is it Friday yet?
People are required to show up day after day. Not just physically, but really, show up. For many people this is about 250 or more days per year.
Hanging In
What do you walk into each day? The same old grind? Or you have to love this one, “Same stuff, different day.” (If you can’t say it on TV, don’t write it.)
Do you want a better day, a better week, and a better career?
What may matter most is that you show up. It seems that showing up, having the grit to do the work that must be done is the single biggest factor for success.
That project you’re working on. It likely won’t single handedly change the culture.
The customer call you must make. It won’t shape the future of everything that happens next.
Your early morning sales or staff meeting, the one that always runs long, probably won’t matter much across the lifetime of the organization.
Certainly, all these things may contribute to the impact, they are all part of the build.
Grit
All the greats, they aren’t the overnight success they appear to be. Good companies that become great, weren’t just about a project, a day, or a meeting.
The grit that you are going to put in today, tomorrow, and about 250 days per year, across 40 or 50 years, that is a career. It all happens one day at a time.
If you do nothing else today, consider that your grit matters.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
