High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 545: The Power of Grit

Episode Date: June 14, 2023

In this episode, we talk about the Power of Grit at an individual level and organization level. Grit can be developed at the organizational level of your business. To build a gritty team, start by selecting and hiring gritty people and developing the grit of the people you already have. Gritty organizations have the same traits as gritty people: they are clear about their goals, keep their purpose front and center, choose positive and empowering energy, are compassionate with one another and themselves, have a desire to work hard, and persevere despite adversity and setbacks. Quote of the Week: "Grit is having the courage to push through no matter what the obstacles are because it’s worth it.” Chris Morris  This Week's Power Phrase: “I am gritty. I am passionate and have a clear vision of the life I am building.”   

Hi friends, my name is Dr. Sindra Kampoff, a national leader in the field of sport and performance psychology. Every week I'm on the local radio sharing my top tips on exactly how to develop the mindset of the world's best, so you can accomplish all your dreams. Get ready for a jammed, packed episode focused on practical tips to help you get after your goals and step out of your comfort zone. Let's go. We check in with Cinder Kampoff once again this morning. And Cinder, we talk about the power of

grit today. Start us off with a quote. I like this quote by Chris Morris. He said, grit is having the courage to push through no matter what the obstacles are because it's worth it. And tell us why you chose this quote for us today. Well, Lisa, I have been watching a lot of track and field the last month or so. My boys, eighth grade and sophomore, both run track. And my son, Blake, was running an elite meet last Friday, and he entered the 400. It was only the second time he had run it, and he was ranked third coming into the meet. And I saw him come around the final straightaway, And he was working so hard. He was gunning it.

And he pushed this extra hard the last 20 meters. And it was a photo finish at the end. And it was incredible. He broke the middle school record and improved his time by three seconds. Congratulations. That's awesome. Isn't that cool? Yeah.

And I was so proud of him. And I was so proud of him because he found that extra gear when he really needed to and when he really wanted to. And that, to me, is what grit is all about. Well, it just makes sense that he's your son then. Why is grit so important to us? That's awesome. Well, when we're gritty, we keep going even when it's hard and we can find the extra gear. But grit is also about

sustained passion over time. So we need to fuel ourselves. We can't just kind of keep pushing ourselves through a brick wall, for example. And this is important because grit has been described as the number one predictor of our own success. And it's a central part of just us continuing to grow and change. It's also connected to performance. So our work performance, our educational performance, even our sport performance. All right. So you said it's been specifically connected to that, but what else? So for example, it's been connected to like higher GPA. So when we're grittier, we have higher grade point average. When we're grittier, we're more likely to stay at our work and have better retention in our workplace. We're more engaged in our work.

We have higher sales performance if we're in sales. And it's really important, for example, if you're an entrepreneur, because grit has been connected to more entrepreneurial innovation. So that's, for example, just ways that grit has been connected to our success. And that's a lot. So how do you explain it? Well, I would explain it by grit helps us develop these other qualities that are really important for high performance. So for example, researchers have found that grit helps us and connects to several like empowering emotions,

such as life satisfaction and happiness. And so the more grit we have, the less likely we're able to, you know, burn out at our job. And the people who are grittier also say that they have more mental toughness. They're more in control of themselves. And grit also helps us forgive ourselves. So when we're gritty, we can really, you know, be kinder to ourselves. So that's why it's been described as one of the strongest predictors of our success. So we want to develop it. How do we start to develop this?

Well, the great thing is grit is something that we can teach and something that can change. And so when I think about the ways I've helped people develop their grit, I think it starts with really understanding what you really, really want, right? Both short-term and long-term. And I think about my son, Blake. If he hadn't decided, you know, that he wanted to try to win that race, right, both short-term and long-term. And I think about my son, Blake. If he hadn't decided, you know, that, you know, that he wanted to try to win that race, right, he probably wouldn't have been able to push at the end. And so for you, you know, what's your end game? What does success mean to you? And then, you know, what do you really, really want? Right. And what's your final point today, then? Well, for those people who are listening who work in businesses,

the great thing is grit can be developed at the organizational level of your business too. So, for example, that starts with selecting and hiring gritty people and developing the grit of people that you already have. And so gritty people are clear on their goals. They keep their purpose front and center, and they're compassionate with themselves. They work hard and keep going despite adversity and setbacks. What's our power phrase this week as we move forward and try to get some grit? All right, it's this.

I am gritty, I am passionate, and have a clear vision of a life I am building. All right, and if people have other questions about maybe how to develop some of those other things that are mentioned from time to time that we talk to, and all of that leads to developing grit. Where do they follow you, and how do we get more involved? You can head over to Dr. Sindra, so D-R-C-I-N-D-R-A, and this excerpt comes from my book, Beyond Grit for Business, so you can read more there if you'd like. Way to go for finishing another episode of the High Performance Mindset. I'm giving you a virtual fist pump. Holy cow, did that go by way too fast for anyone else? If you want more, remember to subscribe and you can head over to Dr. Sindra for show notes and to join my exclusive community for high performers where you get access to videos about mindset each week. So again, you can head

over to Dr. Sindra. That's D-R-C-I-N-D-R-A.com. See you next week.