Gritty Strength, We Need It To Survive This Pandemic

Gritty strength is probably one most important character traits we need to develop right now. 2020 has by far been one of the most trying and challenging years of them all. Many of you would agree that we could all use some gritty strength right now. As a matter of fact, you will need it tomorrow, the next day, and the day after that. gritty strength is having an impenetrable, resilient mind irrespective of the circumstances.

When you look at the literal meaning of grit, it means small loose particles of stone or sand. So if you think about it, to be gritty means to be tough-skinned. We feel, particularly during this time, that many of you may have experienced some hardships. It is very beneficial for your mental health to build gritty strength. This will allow you to hold on tight and stay committed to something important to you, even when you feel completely stuck and everything around you is going wrong.

Developing gritty strength means focusing on self-improvement. But if you’re going to do this, it means doing some inner work. Ask yourself, “What do I truly want, right now, at this current moment?’ You might be very surprised at what you learn.  It’s often very easy to give up when a goal is challenging. However, building a strong and determined mind will help drive you forward. Too many of us give up after the smallest hiccup. That’s why it’s important you build stamina and create a resilience that’ll see you through anything.

Gritty Strength Helps Build Mental Resilience

Resilience is the ability to bounce back after experiencing really difficult times. It’s kind of like an elastic band snapping back. This means no matter how many knocks you might take to the head, the important thing is that you keep getting back up again. In our opinion, we believe that to be resilient you need to be gritty and to be gritty you need to be resilient.

Essentially it is the ability to pick ourselves back up even after we’ve fallen countless times. This is what will help us to persevere with the long and complicated journey that we call life. There’s a misconception that those people with gritty strength are only those who have been hugely successful. That’s why it’s easy to think that gritty strength is a concept that’s way out of reach.

Fortunately, when you focus on it enough, you can develop and confront every hiccup along the way. We may stand to be corrected, but the majority of us are experiencing some really big hiccups at the moment. With a little work, some gritty strength might be the answer to pushing us through this pandemic.

Sometimes life’s hurdles can be extremely paralyzing. You can feel overwhelmed and gritty strength is the last thing you feel like being. There’s nothing more frustrating than feeling completely paralyzed by overwhelm. But life has a way of opening us up to new challenges in a variety of ways. Therefore, we must learn to cope and not allow challenges to deter us from our goals.

However, you have the power within yourself to STOP this vicious cycle right now.

Why You Need Gritty Strength

• Courage,
• Conscientiousness,
• Perseverance,
• Resilience,
• Passion.

Basically, whatever you are pursuing you are pursuing great amounts of perseverance because you are passionate about it. That’s what creates gritty strength. Not that we want to go too heavy into the science behind gritty strength. Today, we rather want to focus on ideas that will help you to cultivate more grittiness.

Either You Have or You Don’t

When it comes to gritty strength, many feel as if they’ve either got it or they don’t. There’s no doubt that the word ‘grit’ often feels vague and elusive when used in conversation. In fact, gritty strength is not a concept nor a word that people use in general conversation. So it may feel like foreign territory at first. However, once you learn more about developing it, you can intentionally start to build your grittiness.

Grittiness Is the Answer

We thought it would be helpful to define 7 solutions to help you develop and build your gritty strength. Remember, your mental health and success are very important to your well-being.

Establish What Is Meaningful To You

The best way to maintain gritty strength is to really define what means a lot to you.

What gives you a sense of purpose or a bounce in your step? Too many of us are living lives that are not staying true to our deepest passions and desires. If you haven’t thought about what you value most, then how can you maintain a sense of purpose? Look at the different domains of your life such as family, friends, career, leisure, and spirituality, and find what gives you a sense of meaning in each category.

Take Baby Steps

When you try to take too many steps all at once, you can often bite off more than you can chew. This is a quick way to reach a point of burnout. That’s why experts recommend taking baby steps when pursuing your goals. Gritty strength is better developed if you can focus on the journey rather than the outcome.

That means celebrating and redefining small successes. This means that even a rejection letter can be viewed as a success because it reflects your effort and develops resilience.

Failure Is An Opportunity

Rather than beating yourself up over failing, rather see it as an opportunity to learn and adjust. Just like this pandemic. It’s an opportunity to shift your mindset from helplessness to hopefulness. That right there is how you can develop grittiness.

But how do we do this? View failure or a setback as an opportunity to grow. Because it is. Looking at the statistics, you’ll notice that some of the most accomplished people showed tremendous resilience and grit. But they failed over and over again until they found success.

Focus On Balance

However, this doesn’t mean you should never rest. We need to rest more than we think, and it helps us succeed on our journey. Gritty strength is key, but try not to make it all about grit. It’s okay to breathe, go for a walk, watch the sunrise or sunset.

It’s very important to learn how to self-soothe during trying times. Figure out what makes your mind quieten, what grounds you, and relaxes your body. Do this, so you don’t run yourself to the ground. Every one of us needs relaxation just as much as we do grittiness. That’s how you’re going to be able to counterbalance toughness and hard work. This is how you’re going to cope and carry on persevering. If you’re not sure how to define what makes your purpose tick, then you need to spend some time self-exploring.

Want to know more?

Forest bathing is a Japanese therapy to help cope with and manage stress, by immersing yourself completely in natural surroundings. Find out how and why you can do it from home.

References

Building Grit in This Pandemic. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/za/blog/here-we-are/202007/building-grit-in-pandemic

Why You Need THE ONE Question, To Persevere With Your Goals. Skyezee FashionFit. https://skyezeefashionfit.com/why-need-one-question-persevere/