11 Signs you Have Grit of a High Achiever

So, do you have grit?

Well, first off, what is it?

It’s the passion, perseverance and stamina we need to stick with our dreams, despite obstacles, until they become a reality.

How do you develop grit?

According to INC.com’s, Travis Bradberry, “It’s all about habitually doing the things that no one else is willing to do.”

If you’re wondering if you have grit, here are some signs, courtesy of Bradberry, to look out for.

1. You have to make mistakes, look like an idiot, and try again, without even flinching

In a recent study at the College of William and Mary, researchers interviewed over 800 entrepreneurs and found the most successful among them tend to have two critical things in common: They're terrible at imagining failure and they tend not to care what other people think of them.

In other words, the most successful entrepreneurs put no time or energy into stressing about their failures, because they see failure as a small and necessary step in the process of reaching their goals.

2. You have to fight when you already feel defeated

A reporter once asked Muhammad Ali how many sit-ups he does every day. "I don't count my sit-ups," he responded. "I only start counting when it starts hurting, when I feel pain, cause that's when it really matters."

The same applies to success in the workplace. You always have a choice when things begin to get tough: You can either overcome an obstacle and grow in the process, or you can let it beat you.

Humans are creatures of habit. If you quit when things get tough, it gets that much easier to quit the next time. On the other hand, if you force yourself to push through it, the grit begins to grow in you.

3. You have to make the calls you're afraid to make

Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do because we know they're for the best in the long-run: fire someone, could call a stranger, pull an all-nighter to get the company server back up, or scrap a project and start over.

It's easy to let the looming challenge paralyze you, but the most successful people know that in these moments, the best thing they can do is to get started right away.

Every moment spent dreading the task subtracts time and energy from actually getting it done. People that learn to habitually make the tough calls stand out like flamingos in a flock of seagulls.

4. You have to keep your emotions in check

Negative emotions will challenge your grit every step of the way.

While it's impossible not to feel your emotions, it's completely within your power to manage them effectively and to keep yourself in a position of control.

When you let your emotions overtake your ability to think clearly, it's easy to lose your resolve. A bad mood can make you lash out or stray from your chosen direction just as easily as a good mood can make you overconfident and impulsive.

5. You have to trust your gut

There's a fine line between trusting your gut and being impulsive. Trusting your gut is a matter of looking at decisions from every possible angle, and when the facts don't present a clear alternative, you believe in your ability to choose; you go with what looks and feels right.

6. You have to give more than you get in return

There's a famous Stanford experiment where an administrator leaves a child in a room with a marshmallow for 15 minutes, telling the child that she's welcome to eat the marshmallow, but if she can wait until the experimenter gets back without eating it, she will get a second marshmallow.

The children that were able to wait until the experimenter returned experienced better outcomes in life, including higher SAT scores, greater career success, and even lower body mass indexes.

The point is that delay of gratification and patience are essential to success.

People with grit know that real results only materialize when you put in the time and forego instant gratification.

7. You have to lead when no one else follows

It's easy to set a direction and believe in yourself when you have support, but the true test of grit is how well you maintain your resolve when nobody else believes in what you're doing. People with grit believe in themselves no matter what and they stay the course until they win people over to their way of thinking.

8. You have to meet deadlines that are unreasonable and deliver results that exceed expectations

Successful people find a way to say yes and still honour their existing commitments.

They know the best way to stand out from everyone else is to outwork them. For this reason, they have a tendency to over deliver, even when they over-promise.

9. You have to focus on the details even when it makes your mind numb

Nothing tests your grit like mind-numbing details, especially when you're tired.

The more people with grit are challenged, the more they dig in and welcome that challenge, and numbers and details are no exception to this.

10. You have to be kind to people who have been rude to you

When people treat you poorly, it's tempting to stoop to their level and return the favour.

People with grit don't allow others to walk all over them, but that doesn't mean they're rude to them, either. Instead, they treat rude and cruel people with the same kindness they extend to anyone else, because they won't allow another person's negativity to bring them down.

11. You have to be accountable for your actions, no matter what

People are far more likely to remember how you dealt with a problem than they are how you created it in the first place.

By holding yourself accountable, even when making excuses is an option, you show that you care about results more than your image or ego.

Grit is as rare as it is important. The good news is any of us can get grittier with a little extra focus and effort.

Thanks Travis for your insight.

What are you prepared to do to increase your grit level?

If you can get better in that area, there's no doubt you’ll accomplish even more than you can imagine.

To your success,

Michael