SigmaU Blog

A determined person pursues their goals and dreams regardless of life’s setbacks. You may have someone in your life who you admire for this very reason. They seem unshakable in their resolve to press on no matter what. Failure is not an option and success for them is a non-negotiable, therefore inevitable.

When I consider someone who is relentlessly pursuing with grit and determination, I often wonder what it is that they do differently. Or more importantly, how they think differently.

Considering this: I’ve thought about times in my own life where I’ve stayed determined in challenging times. Upon reflecting it came down to a definite “WHY”, an acceptance that life is hard, and a brighter vision for the future.

WHY?

Friedrich Nietzsche — 'He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.'

Finding our “why” has been an overused statement over the past few years. Mentioning it can cue a few eye rolls, especially from our...

A mentor recently said something that made me scream “Yes!” because it is completely true. He said “Most people assume that the 1% have the secret to success. The reality is that the 99% just don’t want to believe that it comes down to hard work, discipline and grit.” WOW! Agreed. I have to admit, I hoped that there was a secret to success, a shortcut or a secret sauce, but he’s right. At the end of the day, success requires a lot of hard work and most often we underestimate the effort required on our part.

So how do we build grit?

G – Give

The reality is that you’ll most likely give a lot more than you receive, especially at the beginning. If you’re building a business, you’ll give a ton of value, information, free advice and extraordinary service with little returns. That’s just the reality. It’s a grind and requires inputs at a high level to achieve results. If it’s with your health, you’ll give...

There is no victory unless a battle is fought and while we may appreciate and long for easier days, the hard days form us. The hardest of times introduce us to the grit and resilience we’re made of. Without the adversity, we might otherwise never know our next level of strength.

I’ll admit that during the battle, it’s brutal. It’s exhausting and it can be easy to become cynical. I’ve found that this is something I have to be hyper aware of so I don’t slip into a negative space. I’m working on being skeptical instead of cynical.

See, there are several reasons why I could be cynical right now. I’ve had friends let me down, people disappear during tough times, people turn the other way when they’ve seen injustice in my life and people placating me with empty words like… “if there’s anything I can do” and then not do anything to help.

I’ve seen the worst in humanity recently and in my personal life I...

When did challenge become such a negative thing in society?

I noticed this recently when I was texting with a friend.  Whenever I added the words hard, challenging or difficult my phone automatically registered a stressed out or sad emoji.

Since when did doing hard things become equated with being super stressed or sad.  It even registered a sad emoji when I entered the word “work”!

We all know that in order to grow and level up we must conquer things that stretch us outside of our comfort zones. As critical thinkers and high performers, we need to challenge the status quo when we see things like auto populated emojis.

The reality is, when I post a picture of a “hard” workout to my accountability partner it’s making me stronger.  When I report to my coach an assignment was difficult, I’m actually leveling up my thinking, questioning and ultimately expanding my mind.  Yes, sometimes it’s difficult to ask ourselves tough...

How do you stay positive when the odds are against you? Perhaps positive isn’t even the right word! How do you actually keep going and taking action when you continuously get punched in the face?

We’ve all faced this sense of frustration, false starts, and defeat. The difference between the mediocre and the most successful individuals isn’t talent, it’s grit. It’s that courage to get back up again, no matter what, and preserve.

While this all sounds great, you may be thinking, HOW do I develop grit?

Do Hard Things

Get outside of your comfort zone and stretch your goals. The simplest way to do this is to level up on your physical fitness. Few things have had as much of an impact on my overall life as fitness. During 2021 I enrolled in the 75Hard.com program and it changed my life! I dealt with family issues including suddenly losing my dad, friendship struggles and the continued pressures of the lockdown that severely impacted small...