Recovering the Lost Art of Grit
Grit is the binding fabric that ties our mind and body together during the most disintegrating circumstances. It fuels our soul to defy obstacles along the path that impede our progress to acquiring our goals - the driving force that allows us to surmount any obstruction. However, as indispensable as it is, grit doesn’t always show in people. Some already have it, some think they don’t, and some had it but lost it in the long run. The presence of grit in our lives may be questionable right now, but grit is an inherent strength. It is always there. Some just have it buried within the depths of their soul.
In school, students are allowed to fully utilize their potentials and maximize themselves to the highest possible extent. However, along with this is granted the freedom that we lose our sense of direction; because we bear the tendency to exploit the given liberty of freedom. In Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being and Nothingness: A Phenomenological Essay on Ontology he asserted: “As stated, freedom is not about wanting to do things but the being-for-itself acting upon autonomous choices. You make your choice and you take responsibility for it. So, it is either you awaken the sense of grit in you, or bury it deeper into the point of oblivion. It’s your call.
Synthetically, school is a battlefield in which the fight for a better future is constantly taking place. In this battle for success, intelligence and talent will not suffice. I can vouch for that. More often than not, we measure intelligence through numbers and labels in the form of grades or a scale of ranks, but intelligence is nothing without grit. Harry Potter’s standing on academic intelligence is comical to Hermione Granger’s who had mastered the standard book of spells. Harry was barely in Hermione’s stratum, he flunked most of his exams, got either passing or failing grades. When he was thrust into the wizarding world, his life automatically became a target but he refused to live on his toes. Harry Potter never reduced to his opponents, he wasn’t the most intelligent who had known of the most powerful spells but he had the grit to persevere through his battles, Harry pushed through to work towards defeating Voldemort because he saw the bigger picture - that what he wanted to achieve is bigger than himself, but he took ownership over doing so. He didn’t accept that it is his responsibility because people tell him to; in the end, he made it his responsibility because he saw the importance of what he is doing. One could be of the highest caliber but without the presence of grit in their life, one will not be able to endure the price they have to pay for having such quality.
True intelligence is fueled and sustained by grit, and in that sense, everybody can be a genius. Say, for example, think of someone you know who is successful. What comes first in your mind? I’ll take a guess: their achievements. What else? Perhaps you preconceived knowledge of them. But have it ever occurred to you that these people spent sleepless nights, went through excessive caffeine consumption, or even fought emotional instability just to get to wherever they are right now? Did you ever wonder what they had to compromise and at what expense? Or are you confined within limitations of the visible reality? Many times we fail to acknowledge the fact that beneath the tip of the iceberg is a massive composition of invisible privation, asperities, and compromise. Beyond the visible reality are the prerequisite factors to success that we love to overlook because we would always prefer to sail the calm seas over troubled waters. This is the truth universally unacknowledged. Now take heed of the following words: The easy way won’t get you anywhere. Navigating troubled waters may be strenuous and uphill but once you get around it, nothing feels better than a great sense of satisfaction. It would take up a great deal of grit to overmatch the troubled waters, and it would take nothing more than cowardice to sail through calm seas. The route to success is not designed to go downhill. Rather, it is the complete opposite. I wouldn’t want it the other way because it is in this sense that we can fully grasp the feelings of satisfaction and fulfillment once we acquire the success we’ve long wanted. Grit is indispensable in life’s overall composition; it is necessary. Why? There are only three constant things in this world: change, death, uncertainty. Within the context of uncertainty are life’s mystery and our inability to foresee what lies in store for us. Tomorrow is no guarantee and whether we acknowledge it or not, it induces fear and anxiety which could greatly affect our perspective in life, nonetheless, grit allows us to bear a steadfast vision of our ultimate ends. Ergo, equipping us with the strengths of determination and perseverance to stand up against whatever life throws at us.
It is important to bear in mind that in the pursuit of our dreams, we are the wheelmen who manipulate the pace and the path we venture into; but grit is the fuel that mobilizes the vehicle. Without it, the expedition towards our goals and ends will not be possible. It cannot continue. In the literal sense, your intelligence and talent will remain to be potentials unless complemented with grit. The grit in you isn’t entirely gone, you may have lost track of it, but it will be found.
Thank you 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
