Grow My GRIT Blog

I’m so grateful to my friend from elementary school, “Let’s-Do-This Lyndsay”, for introducing me to Brooke Castillo and The Life Coach School. Brooke and her team of Life Coaches offer more resources than I’ll ever be able to use! I started with the Entrepreneur courses because I still have so much to learn about running a business.   In the monthly challenge to students for December 2019, Brooke invited us to identify one impossible goal for 2020 and 100 worthy fails that we’ll make as we work toward the goal (e.g., 25 per quarter). I jumped at the opportunity to do just that and I actually set two impossible goals for 2020! I’ve also come up with my first 25 worthy fails which I think of as small steps that will keep me travelling in the general direction of the goal.  My first impossible goal is to deliver five workshops … Read more

Decisions, decisions, decisions…  According to a recent Google search, the average adult makes approximately 35,000 decisions a day. Most of those decisions are reflexive or unconscious decisions (e.g., scratching, yawning, blinking) but that means there are still a lot of conscious decisions we make on a daily basis. Some of those decisions are less involved such as “What are we going to eat for dinner?” or “Where should I go to get gas?” Even fewer of these daily decisions will be large, impactful ones such as “Should I quit my job?”, “Should we get a pet?” or “Should I go back to school?” Often, the larger decisions are not made on a whim; they require time to weigh the pros and the cons. Whenever I’m part of conversations with people contemplating a major decision, I find that many of them tend to focus on scarcity. This, in turn, generates anxious and … Read more

“If you express your intentions, the realization of those intentions will follow. Letting other people know your intentions also often leads to the arrival of required assistance from unexpected sources” (Masaru Emoto, 2001). This quote from Masaru Emoto describes exactly what has happened to me in the last six months! It’s fascinating to know that my journey from unbelievable loss on June 17th to unbelievable gain after setting an intention isn’t rare at all. Similar situations have happened to people over and over again all throughout history in many contexts. I’m not blazing a new trail so I can sigh a breath of relief and find comfort in knowing that almost any challenging situation in which I’ve found myself, or will find myself, has been experienced by a total stranger who is somehow also a kindred spirit. I’ve relied on my GRIT more times than I can count since launching Gritty … Read more

In a previous blog I shared a list of great publications that put the spotlight on grit. I called it GRIT Lit and one of the two poems is ‘The Invitation’ by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. I thoroughly enjoy this poem because I feel as though it draws attention to the range of grit needed for all manner of situations that life inevitably throws our way.  I invite you take a few minutes today to find a quiet space and read the poem out loud from beginning to end in one sitting. You may even need to read it more than once; take your time and let the words settle around you as well as within you!  As you’re reading, notice which sentences make you nod your head in agreement or even utter mmm-hmmm. Can you identify a person in your life who embodies these characteristics? Are there any lines that fully … Read more