I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words #6‘ and this is my post for Day 1 in response to the prompt ‘Write about a treasure you have’.

I have been a person with dreams, and those dreams are the ones that make me go from one day to another. In fact I have knowing let go off opportunities that seemed to disappoint my close circle.

However I have had this grit to fulfil my dream – and my dreams alone.

Grit My Treasure

Grit has become the new crackerjack word every expert wants to speak of, and to have grit is considered to be the new comparative quotient. Gone are the days of Intelligence quotient and we are here comparing the grit quotient.

SO What Is Grit

Marriam Webster defines Grit as the following

Firmness of mind or spirit :  unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger managed to survive by his grit and guile

Wikepedia says Grit in psychology is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual’s passion for a particular long-term goal or end state, coupled with a powerful motivation to achieve their respective objective. This perseverance of effort promotes the overcoming of obstacles or challenges that lie within a gritty individual’s path to accomplishment, and serves as a driving force in achievement realization.

Perseverance is the steadfast pursuit of a task, mission, or journey in spite of obstacles, discouragement, or distraction. In contrast, grit is argued to be a trait of perseverance.

Grit enables an individual to persevere in accomplishing a goal despite obstacles over an extended period.

I am glad to read the above definitions and explanations – yes! That is me, I dreamt something a long time ago and the dreams are slowly getting shape and are in fact coming to life in a way too big way.

5 Characteristics Every Person With Grit Has

Grit has become more important these days especially after the Angela Duckworth’s long-awaited book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Angela has come up with her research findings on how children with varying IQ yet having grit go to become the successful ones.

You might be interested in her explanation in TED Talk.

When you say a person has grit, you surely will be looking at one having the following five characteristics. Well you need to look for these in your kids, help cultivate these for them

1. Unlimited Courage

Successful people are born with the boon of having unlimited courage, they do not easily step back from situations or people who seem to try pushing them down. This is very important and you need to make sure your kid embraces courage within them. To know failure is a stepping stone and not the end of growth is very important and that comes only when you have courage.

Fear of failure caused due to overparenting deters one to even try. I have seen this character among people who are quite capable yet do not go that extra step and try. If as a parent you can teach your child that failure is as part of growing process, but exploring ideas and dreams is the real growth – you can call yourself as a successful parent.

2. Endurance

I can never say enough what endurance does o ones success. I personally would be nowhere in my business if I had not endured. I had searched for the packing alone for six long months. It was not easy, I had to go check on different manufacturers and different material till I got the one I had in mind.

Each product had to go through the same process. Finding the right seller at the right price is something that would break you easily.

Endurance is what is required to succeed, otherwise we remain the same old step till someone come by to raise you (which is not the case with the world these days)

Duckworth writes:

“… achievement is the product of talent and effort, the latter a function of the intensity, direction, and duration of one’s exertions towards a long-term goal.”

How would you impart endurance as a character in your child?

As a parent it is very difficult to make your child persevere till he finishes. However, seeing the many child prodigies who suddenly reach great fame and after a few years fade away, I feel we need to make sure that our child knows what he is doing and how to make anything a success.

when people speak of Vishwanathan Anand they start with his mothers part in his success. The great Olympian Michael Phelps would be no where if not for his mother (okay dads are included here too –  The Williams sisters cannot be forgotten so quickly).

Thus perseverance begins from the mother, at times it may be a little to lot of pushing, but if you feel your child needs that little push – go ahead – give it.

3. A Strong Conscience

Yesterday when my son came from school he mentioned that  his friend asked him not to study for the exam and that he would learn all and help my son out during the exam. Raksh immediately followed with the explanation – “how can that be right?”

Just that- the balance between right and wrong is the most important thing that is needed to be successful.

‘Everything is right in love and war’ might be a lesson for cutthroat money earning however at the end of the day you need to have something to take back with you n your soul. pulling others down and pushing yourselves up is not the way to success.

I make sure to tell the children not to step on another person to succeed – success will eventually come if you just work with conscience.

According to Duckworth, of the five personality traits, conscientiousness is the most closely associated with grit.

4. Optimism

When you set a long time goal the first thing you need to believe in is – success. If you believe that you will succeed no matter what may be the hurdles you face in the process or the failures you face, you have crossed half of your way to success.

I make use of gratitude here. I list our my gratitude for everyone, everyday and have found that things which need to be remembered stay in my mind always and those to be forgotten vanish off, because those to be remembered become so very positively strengthened.

Teaching your kid to practice mindfulness, is the first step towards making him a successful person. Building optimism and gaining the energy to overcome negativity will easily be attained by mindfulness.

5. Excellence

This is the most important trait a successful person has. To be classified yourself as a successful person you need to make sure you are not following anyone blindly or copying some one else’s success formula.

You need to find that interest in you which you are a the best at and cultivate it slowly and perfectly.

Most successful people may not be perfectionists but are ones that excel in what they do. Answering an inner call and striving to learn more and excel in it is what drives you towards a perfectly successful life.