Grit with Grace?
Grit? Grace? How do we manage when we feel like life is a bit out of control? I get you! There is chaos swirling around us. We hear daily of pandemic news, political debates, social unrest, and economic catastrophes.
How can we focus during these times?
On Sunday, I was talking with my husband. I had a litany of demons, personally and professionally, that I was facing, and I felt so out of control. I knew I needed to get a grip on these demons and find solutions.
What You Can Control
Jon Gordon writes,
“Three things you control every day are your ATTITUDE, your EFFORT, and your ACTIONS.
As I write, I keep being reminded of one of my favorite saying, “grit with grace.” I think I first heard that phrase spoken by Carrie Wilkerson. Wow, what a concept!
StoryTime
If you can’t tell, I love to tell stories. No, not fibs, but stories about my family, my work, my life.
Here is an example of when I had to use grit with grace.
Road Trip
I decided to drive to South Dakota for my son’s wedding. A road trip sounded like fun and a way to spend some time with my 18-year-old son, who was the best man. Being the excellent organizer that I am, I had everything scheduled, planned, and booked. We AirBnB’d our way across the country.
The first day we drove to the west side of Pennsylvania. Gorgeous views, great hiking, tons of fun. Exhausted, but enthusiastic, we stopped for the first night at a quaint Schoolhouse. It was smack dab in the middle of Amish country, full of charm, antiques, and a bubbling brook running outside the back door. There was even a functioning school bell at the top of the schoolhouse.
Nighttime came, and I woke up and was looking out the window. Everything was calm and peaceful. I shifted around to return to the bed when my left foot connected with the leg of the bed. Ouch! I zigged when I should have zagged. The first day of an 11-day road trip and here I am hobbling around.
I still had a wedding to attend, a rehearsal dinner to coordinate, a lot of life and chaos ahead. I wanted to wear those pretty sandals to the wedding; silly stuff like that was going through my mind.
What was I going to do? Be miserable? Throw a hissy fit?
This is were grit with grace came in.
The grit was me taping the poor little toe up to keep, keeping on. Thank goodness I had shoes with me that accommodated a very swollen, fractured toe. Most people were not even aware of the injury. I also managed to do some limited hiking.
The grace was giving myself permission to reset, balance out MY expectations, and move forward.
Today, let’s look at ways to dig deep and bring back control into our everyday lives.
Here are three thoughts to provoke you, two ideas to inspire you, and one item to act on!
Three Thoughts to Provoke
Number One. Attitude.
Have you ever seen a wall that was damaged? It seemed beyond repair. Then a master carpenter steps in and applies plaster to that wall. It now looks flawless.
I wrote this quote a few years ago.
“A gratitude attitude is the plaster that makes the wall look fantastic.”
Your attitude can make or break a situation. When we have a view of gratitude, we shift our focus off of what is wrong to what is right.
Number Two. Effort.
Every day you can control the effort you put into your life.
Franklin D. Roosevelt said,
“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”
Are we spending more time concentrating on the chaos, or making an effort to bring change.
Number Three. Actions.
We choose our actions. Do you provide yourself grit with grace? Sometimes we have to dig deep to find the courage to move forward. Sometimes we have to give ourselves the grace to breathe and find comfort.
Two Things to Inspire
Number One.
Jon Gordon says,
“It doesn’t matter what others are doing or who you think is being unfair. Every day you can focus on being positive, working hard, and making others around you better.“
Number Two.
Jerry Boyer writes,
“Ingratitude, I’d say, is the most common reason for entrepreneurial failure.“
It is easy to get caught up in the should’ve and lose our vision.
Your Action Item
What is one area today that you can give yourself grit with grace. Do you need to move forward, even if it is painful, and you feel out of control?
Give yourself grace; pause, reflect, plan your next course of action.
You’ve got this!
Additional Resources
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