Hello!
It’s not morning, but that’s ok. Let’s talk about grit for a moment. Grit is actually much more important than motivation. But what is grit?
Grit is the skill (that everyone has the ability to hone) that makes people work on things even when they don’t want to. If you’re tired, grit is what would make you get up anyway. If you really just want to stay at home and eat ice cream, grit is what makes you go work out. If you just want to watch TV, grit is what would make you work on a project that you have.
Motivation is a very small part of success in anything. Of course, motivation is important. It’s usually what helps you start something. But grit is what will keep you on the path even when you want to get off.
A good example of this is New Year’s Resolutions. In January, people are motivated to work on whatever it is they resolved to do. They work on it every day. But after a few weeks, they begin skipping days, and then they begin working on their resolution only once or twice a week. By Valentine’s Day, no one is even talking about their resolutions anymore. The year is no longer new, and resolutions are forgotten. This is motivations.
On the other hand, grit would say, “I see that you’re no longer motivated, but we need to do such-and-such anyway.” Grit would have a person work on those New Year’s Resolutions throughout the year. Grit would have a person working on their resolutions in June when everyone else has long-since forgotten about their resolutions.
For example, I definitely didn’t want to sit down and work on my POD store today. My mind was telling me “You have 33 mugs available for sale. You’ve been working hard. Take a break.” While all of that is true, and I think I can safely work slightly less on my business, it’s not time to take a full break. I’ve worked hard setting up my company. There may not be more to set up right now, but I still need to work on the upkeep of my business every day. My motivation is hanging by a thread right now. I never really feel like working, but I do because it gets me one step closer to my long-term goals. And every time I work even though I don’t want to, my grit skill gets stronger.
I hope that helps people to keep going in spite of how they are feeling. Know that you are not alone. I am starting a business, and my first goal is for it to become a side hustle. Right now, I still have yet to sell a single mug, but if I keep working (consistency is key), I am going to sell tons of mugs. And that will happen for you, too. Whatever it is that you are doing, there may be nothing there to motivate you today, but the grit you have to keep going will get you to your long-term goals.
So, let’s move on to the Mug of the Day. Who knows? It might inspire you:
Haha! I love this mug! It’s not super wordy, but it’s so inspirational! I may get this mug for me just so I can see it every morning. Sometimes, I need a reminder to be epic. And this mug would definitely be a good reminder of that! You can get this mug, as well as many more through my Etsy shop. Each mug is only $11, and the right one can inspire you every single day. And you can’t really put a price on that.
Frugal Treehugger 