High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 42: Grit Over Gift

Episode Date: April 25, 2016

There is ample amount of research and evidence that it is not someone’s talent that leads to success, it their grit. It is their persistence and passion that drives them to commit to the hours and hours needed to experience success. It is a person’s grit that leads to success, not the talent or gift they were born with. Grit over gift. In this episode, Dr. Kamphoff provides two strategies you can use to improve your grit. As always, you can email her at [e-mail] or find her on Twitter @Mentally_Strong.

Welcome to High Performance Mindset with Dr. Sindra Kampoff. Do you want to reach your full potential, live a life of passion, go after your dreams? Each week we bring you strategies and interviews to help you ignite your mindset. Let's bring on Sindra. Welcome to the High Performance Mindset Podcast. This is your host, Sindra Kampoff, and thank you so much for joining me here. I'm grateful that you're here, ready to listen to a message about having grit over gift. Michael Phelps, an 18-time Olympic world champion, said this,

if you want to be the best, you have to do things others aren't willing to do. I just watched Michael Phelps' Under Armour commercial for the first time. Now, this commercial has already gotten about 5 million views on YouTube. And the commercial, titled Rule Yourself, demonstrates the physical sacrifices that Phelps has made in his quest to the Rio Olympics. This summer will likely be his last Olympic Games. And in this commercial, you see him swimming repeats with the parachute dragging through the water behind him. You see him frustrated as he slams his fist in the water after a repeat that he wasn't happy because it seemed like he wasn't reaching his personal standard. You see him training hardcore in the weight room, carbo-loading, and undergoing a cupping therapy in ice baths to be the best that he can be while training. The commercial documents his journey to get to the Olympics, not the destination.

It documents the process of greatness, the sacrifices and struggles, the restless nights, and the restless commitment to sculpting and taking care of his body. Now, I love the tagline that ends the commercial. It says, it is what you do in the dark that puts you in the light. Rule yourself. I love the rule yourself tagline because to me it reinforces the importance of taking control and responsibility for your destination towards greatness and high performance. You know, Phelps, an 18 time Olympic world champion, was not born the world's greatest swimmer. Instead, he developed himself into the world's greatest swimmer.

Legacies like Phelps are built over a lifetime of sacrifices, a lifetime of commitment, and a lifetime of grit. And my friends, your legacy is built over a lifetime of the same. Now there's ample amount of research and evidence that it's not someone's talent that leads to success it is their grit it's their persistence and passion that drives them to commit to the hours and hours needed to experience success. It is a person's grit that leads to success, not their talent or gift they were born with. Hence the title of today's episode, Grit Over Gift. In fact, there's a lot of researchers and practitioners at this time that are saying grit is the number one predictor of success. It is what we need to develop.

And we know that talent does play a role in achievement, but psychologists like Angela Duckworth have found that grit makes all the difference. So today I have two strategies for you to use to develop your grit. Number one, do the things that are less enjoyable. To get great at anything, it takes deliberate practice with the intention of working to get better. And deliberate practice cannot be performed mindlessly or without focus. It takes commitment and persistence. It takes deciding to do the small things that most do not do because they're boring or uneventful.

And it takes honesty with yourself on where you went wrong. You know, the best of the best do the small things that are less exciting and they struggle through it. They make mistakes and keep on going. They're gritty and they decide to study their craft, practice, or train even when they don't feel like it. So today, can you do the things that are less enjoyable that you know will lead you to your destination? And the second strategy for today is to seek constant and never-ending improvement. Improvement in yourself and improvement in your skills. Ask people for feedback. And to stay excited for what you're doing, we need to consciously grow and learn.

So how can you continue to improve your skills and yourself? What's one thing today that you can do so you're continuing to improve? Because my friends, greatness is not born, it is developed over time. What's one thing today that you can do so you're continuing to improve? Because my friends, greatness is not born. It is developed over time. And to experience high performance, deliberate practice is necessary. We need to do the things that are less enjoyable, the things that others aren't willing to do.

And you have to stay gritty in the process. So my two strategies to develop your grit are this today. Do the things this week that are less enjoyable. And number two, seek constant and never-ending improvement. And today we're going to end with an affirmation. You can find this on my Facebook page at Dr. Cinder Campoff or on my Twitter handle at mentally underscore strong. You can find it there, download it, print it, retweet it, like it, whatever you'd like to do. And it's this. I rule myself. I remain focused on my pursuit of excellence.

I do the things that are not enjoyable that others are not willing to do to reach my goals and my dreams. I put in the hours necessary for my success. Have an outstanding week, my friends. Stay gritty. And as always, I'd love to hear what you think about this message. You can send me an email at cindra at cindracampoff.com or I'm always on Twitter at mentally underscore strong. Make it an outstanding week. Stay gritty and be mentally strong. Thank you for listening to High Performance Mindset. Are you signed up for Cindra's weekly email with free mental tools and strategies for high performance