Grit

Why we all need Grit.

I believe this psychological attribute is essential for anyone to truly recover from mental health and addiction issues. Grit means having the resolve to do things that cause discomfort and stay locked into challenging situations no matter what. 

Grit, as it specifically relates to addiction and mental health is profoundly important. At the end of the day, grit is the desire to achieve a goal no matter what. This requires sustained commitment, stamina, effort, and personal integrity. Grit can show itself collectively on a team that overcomes great adversity. The 2014 Seattle Seahawks had tremendous grit, which I witnessed as their Life Coach. Pete Carroll, John Schneider, every coach, and every player had a singular goal and purpose, with Grit running through their veins they made it to the top. It is just so powerful when a group of people, with the same goals, are gritty enough to achieve the unthinkable. It’s powerful stuff when it shows itself in the collective or individually.

Grit could literally save the world. 

Grit is always connected to passion in my experience. Visualizing things in your mind and converting those visualizations into focused actionable commitments is where things get real. Most people don’t have what it takes specifically in the area of effort and consistency. Those of us in long-term recovery have grit. Meaning each one of us made a decision to change our thinking, our mindsets, our intentions, one day at a time. Each of us in and out of recovery need to know how we can use grit to achieve our goals. I say, dream big, make a plan, and work the plan.

Stay true to your values and goals and see where it takes you. Nothing worthwhile comes easily as most of us know. Bringing some grit each and every day will open up a world that will simply continue to show you limitless possibilities. Gritty people in recovery live long, productive, and well-balanced lives. Without grit, we as addicts, are simply engaged in a slow burn to the bitter end.