I am an active marathoner though I only came to it in my mid 40ies. I was motivated initially to get faster at my halves and it has definitely done that. In following a regiment of weekly long runs with daily short ones, I finally broke four hours at the Bend, Oregon marathon this year. However, it has become more than just about the speed for me. It’s about the grind now; something I’ve always been drawn to.
Marathons, unsurprisingly, are hard and require intentional effort and training. I expected that. I was surprised though how naturally it fit into my lifestyle. For all my life, I’ve always worked hard. I identified with working hard. Marathoning gave me perspective that I had not gotten from my career. I realized that I seek achievement on things that are personal to me. I was getting some of that out of my career but it became obvious with marathoning. It challenged me to commit to something that nobody else was asking me to do but me. I found that the pursuit of a personal achievement was me exercising my grit.
To exercise grit is to live a life of personal achievement
Working hard towards a personal goal often gets misunderstood. People on the outside generally see the goal but not all the hard work. So it often gets labeled as ambition or career mindedness. I think there’s a better way to describe it: achievement focused. The personal goal drives and focuses all the hard work, your grit, and the achievements are measures of progress. You have to train your grit just like you would train any muscle. Years of hard and uncomfortable work; measuring incremental progress with achievements; and making tweaks and adjustments to how you work hard and strive for those achievements aimed at that personal goal.
What makes grit powerful is that it’s tied to purpose, a goal that is personal to you. It’s not just endurance or toughness that comes with learning how to work hard. It’s committing to a challenge that deeply matters to you. A challenge that you are willing to get yourself beaten up over and over again just to gain an inch on that mile long journey. That isn’t limited to titles or status. Personal achievements are all the small incremental victories and successes, the inches.
For me, endurance running is one of my passions. Each race completed, every medal, and yes those age group podiums I now occasionally get in local halves are my personal achievements in the journey of getting better at endurance running. I haven’t fully unpacked why that matters so much to me but I know it is a great example of me exercising my grit.
Personal growth is strengthen your grit
True personal growth does not come from checking a box and it certainly does not come from a title or status. It comes from learning how to grind through the hard work in pursuit of a personal goal. Learning how to not give up and to keep trying and striving no matter how much pain you go through to get that inch. Learning how to grind it out with your eye on the prize while keeping a smile and positive attitude is what builds true character.
That personal goal doesn’t have to be running. That’s just what I am passionate about. For someone else, it might be playing an instrument, creative writing, or cooking. What matters is that the effort is personal to you on a deep level. It is your passion that will drive you to do the hard work, and more hard work, and to keep on working hard because a real personal goal is unending. Remember that true hard work is intentional and uncomfortable; it’s focused on doing something that is hard for you; it isn’t just going through the motions.
True personal goals don’t have defined end states; achievements do. That is why achievements are measures of progress towards a goal. That means you will never be finished. That’s the point. With running, it isn’t about completing a race; it is about doing it better next time whether it is faster or longer. In cooking, it isn’t about following a recipe; it is about perfecting it whether it is through adding personal touches or improving techniques. Creative writing isn’t about finishing one story; it is about becoming a better storyteller.
It is the hard work in the pursuit of that goal that matters because you chose to do it. Progress demands more from you each time. Progress asks you to show up even when it’s hard; especially when it’s hard. Grit is how we meet those hard moments; moments that define us. Achievement is how we know we’ve made progress.
It’s never too late to start exercising your grit
I started marathoning in my 40ies. It wasn’t some radical departure from who I was as I already loved running. I did, however, make a much deeper commitment to it. I became intentional about it. I leaned into the hard work. Everyone has a thing that they love but not everyone has grit. Maybe you’ve been circling something for years, waiting for the right time or signal to begin. Stop waiting and just commit.
If you have something you love doing, regardless of what anyone else thinks, take it to the next level. No shortcuts. No judgment. Just commitment and start doing the hard work, the grind. The sooner you commit, the sooner you start exercising your grit, the sooner you start realizing true personal growth.
Push Pace 