“Grit is about doing the hard work, day in and day out, without immediate reward.”
– Angela Duckworth
Grit:
Years ago I read the book, Grit, by Angela Duckworth. I originally read it to help me become a better parent. However, I admit I’ve been thinking about the teachings from the book frequently as of late. A main tenet of the book is that talent and intelligence are less important than determining success than grit. Grit is a driving force behind perseverance, hard work, and goal-setting.
According to a 2024 Blogging Survey, 80% of new blogs fail within the first 18 months and it takes commitment and grit to be successful. To put it shortly, I think I’ve hit that first wall. It would have been easy to fail. Instead, it has caused me some introspection on why I’m doing what I’m doing.
Purpose:
I’ve been writing on the blog since the end of December 2023. I originally started with the intent of writing on the blog weekly. That would equate to a total of 24 posts. Instead, I sit here writing my 9th post. While that might sound like a failure to some I want to reflect on how I feel about it.
Writing is important to me when I feel I have something important to say and not just to publish. When I look at other bloggers I admire often that is the model they follow. However, the other side of the coin is to build a community I need to be a consistent and dependable voice others wish to seek out.
Lifestyle Design: Introspection
All of this led me to think more deeply about life. I recently listened to one of the latest ChooseFI podcasts, Episode 493 Design Your Extraordinary Life with Katie and Alan Donegan. I’ve referenced Katie and Alan before as they were mainstage speakers at this year’s EconoMe conference. They spoke about the same topic of designing your extraordinary life. On the podcast, Alan described the process where he performs a monthly check-up of various facets of his life to ensure that the actions that he is taking are congruent with his goals and values.
I thought this sounded very interesting and could provide me with direction. If you are interested in performing the exercise yourself, please find a description on Alan and Katie’s site.
I won’t delve into all my answers, but I want to commit to myself and you that writing consistently is important and is something I will continue to strive for.
I appreciate you for following along. Additionally, if there is a particular topic you’d like to hear featured drop a note in the comments and let me know that you are along for the journey.
Thanks and I’ll talk to you soon.
Thanks for sharing, Elliott. My wife and I listened to that Choose FI episode and I remember her saying “We should do that”. But we haven’t. I’m going to commit to working our way through the exercise as well
Thanks Josh! I feel confident that when I’m writing I at least have a friendly face in the crowd that will read my post and I truly appreciate it! I think you’ll find a lot of value going through the exercise as I did. Now I will say that perhaps not all categories will have the same impact, but overall I thought it was helpful. Look forward to hearing more about it.