The four steps to getting Grit:
- interest — an interest is needed to kick start their journey into improvement. With an interest in mind, it’s easy to continue and persevere through the tougher times (such as the learning / acquiring the skill period of time.)
- practice — after the initial interest has settled in, practicing turns that passion into something more powerful.
- purpose- after spending time practicing the skill, it’s important to move on into thinking “how can this benefit someone else” and that’s how one can come up with their purpose.
- hope- this is not necessarily the last step, it’s actually just something that is present throughout all the steps.
“Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and then a lifetime of deepening.”
“Perhaps the major quality of theses teachers was that they made the initial learning very pleasant and rewarding. Much of the introduction to the field was as playful activity, and the learning at the beginning of this stage was much like a game.” Similarly, the first stage in Grit is Interest, and that stage is also very playful and discovery like. It’s all about experimenting and that is very fun in comparison to the practicing stage which can be harsh as it takes a lot of dedication and discipline.
An interesting aspect to look at is from a painters perspective on the sky, “I’m like an artist who looks at the sky every morning and sees a variety of really brilliant colors where other people would just see blue or gray. I’m seeing in the course of a single day this tremendous complexity and nuance.”
Some of the recommended questions to ask ones self are:
- What do I like to think about?
- Where does my mind wander?
- What do I really care about?
- What matters most to me?
- How do I enjoy spending my time?
- What do I find absolutely unbearable?
By asking those questions, it’s easier to find a potential interest and narrow in on that grit.
“Gritty people do more deliberate practice and experience more flow.”
An example of this is found through an Olympic gold medalist spent time swimming 20,000 miles in laps just for a race that took less than a minute.
Some of the other advice found in Grit goes as follows:
- Set a clearly defined stretch goal
- Full concentration and effort
- Immediate and informative feedback
- Repetition with reflection and refinement
Read the book, Daily rituals —it’s filled with successful morning routines
Go to a coffee shop to work —setting a place can help with the process of creating habits
Three bricklayers are asked: “what are you doing?”
The first says, “I am laying bricks.”
The second says, “I am building a church.”
And the third says, “i am building the house of God.”
The first bricklayer has a job. The second has a career. The third has a calling.
Bill Damon: imagine yourself 15 years from now.
1. What do you think will be most important to you then?
2. Can you think of someone whose life inspires you to be a better person? Who? Why?
Old Japanese saying “fall seven. rise eight”
Concept: Learned optimism
Imagine: you can’t get all the work done that others expect of you. Now imagine one major cause for this event. What leaps to mind?
Learning optimism: replying with “I mismanage my time” (temporary, can be solved and specific) vs. I always mess up (pessimistic)
“Whether you think you can, or can’t — you’re right.” — Henry Ford
Additionally, fixed vs. growth mindset. Reminds me of Gilmore Girls. If you’ve ever seen the show, think of Rory. She had a fixed mindset and when Mr. Mitchum Huntsberger said she didn’t have what it takes to be a journalist, she gave up Yale for a year.
“With a fixed mindset, you’re likely to interpret these setbacks as evidence that, after all, you don’t have “the right stuff” — you’re not good enough.” — Grit
