*This is a re-post from an Article I wrote in September 2021 on LinkedIn. That can be found here
Do I have G.R.I.T., or am I just stubborn? Is G.R.I.T a good thing?
As of late, I’ve thought through these questions many times. And, to be honest I don’t know the answer.
I always had assumed G.R.I.T. was a positive trait, one that showed I was willing to do anything to ‘get the job done’ and prove my value to the business. As I’ve grown in my career and life experience I’ve come to realize that there is a fine line between having guts, resilience, initiative and tenacity and being stubborn. There is a fine line between knowing when the push through and when to ‘fail’ and move on. There is a fine line between a hard worker and being obsessive.
I don’t often share information related to my personal life on this forum, but the scenario is fitting. So, here it goes.
2020 was a challenging and transformative year for everyone, but I took it to an entirely new level. I got sick. 7 medical procedures and 2 major surgeries sick. Spending a full week in the hospital sick. In the middle of a pandemic. Ugh. But, this is not about that, this is about G.R.I.T. and stubbornness.
I assumed that I could use my G.R.I.T. to ‘power through’ the illness and just move past it. I had also assumed that I could forget about the illness during working hours and not let others know I was suffering. It turns out that what I saw as resilience and tenacity was really stubbornness. Being stubborn was like having blinders on a race horse, I could only see what I wanted and didn’t believe the illness would impact me like it would others. After several months after the onset of the illness it became clear this was not the case. Lucky for me, I have an amazing wife, family and network of friends who helped me see that I was being stubborn and needed to take time to heal.
I had relied on my survivor genetics (family of holocaust survivors, etc.) to always get me through challenging scenarios and assumed it was just G.R.I.T.
Well, I was wrong.
I’ve come to realize that in work, life and hybrid scenarios stubbornness will veil itself as guts, resilience, initiative or tenacity. It’s a fine line, and hard to distinguish. At least that is/was the case for me.
Often I’ve seen those around me who climb the corporate ladder, or run that extra marathon, as someone who exhibits G.R.I.T. because they ‘just get it done no matter what’. Maybe they’re stubborn as well? Maybe they do that guts? But, it doesn’t really matter because we all have different scenarios and to be honest G.R.I.T. isn’t something we should aspire for. It’s just something that happens. But, and this is a big but, it should have a counterbalance. One that makes you think ‘what am I sacrificing/losing by being gritty’.
This is/was a challenging moment for me. I was forced to see myself without blinders, and come to realize that my guts, resilience, initiative and tenacity were actually stubbornness and were hindering my path to success.
I’ll still strive for excellence. I’ll still push myself. I’ll still be gritty. But, I’m now aware of the counterbalance and more cognizant of what stubbornness looks like.
TLDR: G.R.I.T and Productivity are not mutually exclusive.
