3 Reasons Why Mental Grit is for Losers
That’s right; it took me over two weeks to post a podcast about Grit. Ironic? Not at all. The longer you ignore employing Grit, the longer you go avoiding disappointment and failure. So in this week’s episode, I’m going to share with you three tips I use to stay clear of the stupidity of Grit.
Grit is the positivity buzzword du jour. Just go on social media and hashtag grit. You'll be inundated with post after post of people pushing themselves to be better and for what? To create their dreams? That is 100% organic locally sourced malarkey. That's right. Malarkey.
Grit is overrated. Grit forces you to acknowledge your limits aren't real and that you can push past them. And where does that lead you? Exhausted and questioning if your dreams are really worth it. Spoiler alert! Your self-doubts are only trying to keep you safe so you can focus all your energy on what's truly important, like napping so you can avoid what you're really supposed to be addressing in your unchangeable yet quite changeable, life.
For instance, this podcast took over two weeks to record. Why? I avoid grit at all costs. I kept on telling myself I'll do it tomorrow, and as we all know, tomorrow never comes. How was I able to ignore this urge to promote and grow my podcast? Well, let me share with you three reminders I use to avoid Grit.
1. Grit makes you annoying
Have you ever had to be around someone who's always crushing their goals and you're stuck listening to them gush about how they've improved their happiness, love life, career, or overall life? It's literally the worst. In fact, my mediocrity just barfed thinking about it.
Sometimes, if not most of the time, actually who's kidding who, it's all the time, people want to complain when they hang out. We want to pin our grievances on everything else instead of taking responsibility ourselves because responsibility takes a lot of work. And when we're done complaining, we expect everyone else to agree with our fictional unfairness. Then when our turn is over, it's our job to reciprocate someone else's misplaced blame. That's friendship 101. There's no room at the bitter table for Johnny or Janie Sunshine ruining everyone's time with their optimism, encouragement, and leading by example.
Goals are never-ending. They're motivational herpes. They just keep flaring up making you stand out for all the wrong reasons, which makes inspiration contagious. So be careful with whom you spend time with cause the last thing you want is to contract a raging case of the Grit.
2. Grit eats up all your leisure time
You can't be lazy and employ grit. Grit requires energy and focus, which as you already know is incredibly draining. You're always growing and challenging yourself to live your best life, leaving you little time to do nothing. I mean, who doesn't enjoy doing nothing? Doing nothing is one of humanity's greatest accomplishments. To actively go out and achieve something is a slap in the face to all the generations before us who tolled away creating this leisure filled world we call home today. As I said in the last episode, we live in the Golden Age of Distraction. Mental Grit is the wet blanket to leisure.
Grit means ignoring distractions. It means choosing to ignore that voice in your head that's saying you're too tired, this isn't fun, what's on TV, or check social media immediately because someone new might be following you. Those are all valid thoughts! Why would you have them otherwise? So, do as the positivity jerks say by living in the moment but flip it in the name of mediocrity by choosing instead to live in the moment by embracing all your fear-driven instincts to stop, ignore, and push back on the urge for self-improvement.
3. Grit invites failure into your life
For those of you who are regular listeners, and keep up the mediocrity, you know my mantra is trying is the number one cause of failure. Listen to anyone, or think about your own life, nothing ever goes smoothly. Riding a bike, asking someone out for the first time, your first draft of a novel, it's never perfect. There are always unforeseen bumps, obstacles, and failures to overcome.
The point of mental grit is to push through these failures and difficulties, which means you're intentionally picking a fight with them. You're purposely moving forward with your so-called "soul compass" and marching directly into their path. It's like jumping in the ocean with a cut looking for a shark. How does that make sense? It doesn't.
Is learning how to be stronger than your setbacks really that important? Shouldn't we instead view our temporary setbacks and stumbles as Life saying, "Stop it. You're not good enough." rather than pushing ourselves through the paper-thin wall of self-doubt?
Mental grit, perseverance, determination, gumption, or whatever fake news term you want to use for chasing your foolish dreams simply means you're denying yourself from the splendours of mediocrity. You have two choices in life… trying or denying. Trying takes effort. Denying is instant.