Looking back at my life, I have only really come to one solid conclusion about what leads to success. Although there are always many factors, the one ingredient all my successful experiences have had is perseverance. This leads me to this conclusion: if you want to have success at anything – the most important thing you can do is to keep trying. When you get knocked down, get back up again. When you fail, try again. When you get tired and overwhelmed, take a quick breather and get back in the ring. Success rarely comes easily, and when it is found easy, it is usually fleeting and temporary. Lasting success is always preceded by a determined course where the recipient has pursued their ambition despite many setbacks and challenges.
Learning from Others
This concept is reinforced by the experiences of others. I have had many opportunities to interview successful people, and they have all recounted the times when they just wanted to quit and give up, yet made the decision to keep on pursuing their ambition. In every circumstance, the ones that decided to stay the course are the ones that found success. You hear reference to this intangible quality in people, which is called grit. Well, this is what grit is: the willingness to push on through and fight on despite challenges and hardships. People reference this as a quality that is hard to pinpoint and describe, but I actually find that to be rather easy. Are you willing to continue on and lift yourself up after discouragement and bad news? Well, if you are, then you have grit.
Discovering Grit Through Experience
You never know how people will respond in times of difficulty and challenge. Sometimes, the person themselves does not know how they will react. The only real way to know this characteristic is through experience. You just find out. The good news is that this determined behavior, this never-back-down ethic, can be learned. You can overcome your weakness, fear, and worry and develop into a person who has this never-give-up attitude. I have seen this transformation come over many people in my life. True, this comes easier to people who have had difficulty in their lives, but that does not mean that someone who was born and raised in comfort cannot also learn this characteristic.
A Real-Life Example of Grit
This last week, I went into the wild country with a group of family and friends. This trip was one in which we had to pass through various difficulties and hardships as we made a trek through an unforgiving country. I watched with interest in the comparison between my 14-year-old daughter and my 75-year-old aunt, who were both members of the expedition party. Both of these women had hardships pressed upon them for different reasons. Both of them had to dig deep to find the personal resolve to keep on going despite the struggle. Both persevered, and both had a big smile on their face when the challenge was done. There was a moment when I watched them both sitting by a makeshift fire that we built in a small cave to hide from a hail storm. They were both laughing about their experience getting to this point. I thought this was where grit was born. Right here, they both know they can push themselves through to the end. They both know they will reach the finish line.
The Ups and Downs of Life
So you will have challenges in life. Things will not be always good. Your wonderful success will not always last. You will find yourself struggling to get out of bed one day and being flying high the next. The ups and downs will be fun and exhilarating and, at other times, nauseating. Do you have what it takes to push on through despite the discouragement? Despite the trouble? Despite the fact that it is not as easy as it was before? Therein lies the answer to your success. If you can resolve to continue and not quit, fight instead of faint, and push on instead of shrug, then you will find success because you have discovered the one and primary ingredient to all successful endeavors.
