The Grit to Go
I’ve never managed to speak as freely and with such transparency … until now. The mere task of weathering the storm levels me to a point of simply wanting the win, even more. It doesn’t provide as much anguish as I’ve often feared; rather, it provides an odd and rattling level of pressure, necessary for the win.
The pleasure of any win doesn’t come without the pain to endure.
I’ve really never been able to speak as freely and with such transparency as I have, until now. The repetition of this phrase, merely a sign of how daunting a task this clearly must be for me. It’s almost just as terrifying as facing the need to win:
“1 minute left on the clock; down by 7: 4 buckets to lock in the win, or 1 touchdown and field goal to tie the game.”
Bearing the necessary grit required to overcome any loss can be just as heavy. Even within moments of managing grit, we must understand that with it comes the need to endure the pain to win.
There is great risk and work involved in reaching victory; controlling the response to setbacks; overcoming a loss that we once thought was affirmed as a ‘win’. Remembering the reason we began must be considered.
How often have we lost our bearings or missed the mark to win in a moment of fear? That paralyzing sense of fear; one that- in all seriousness- has no room to grow in an arena where we are positioned to see our dreams take flight. Haven’t we remembered why we started in the first place? Haven’t we recalled the skills and talents we possess in order to achieve that very thing?
It can’t come without the pain of enduring the work, the sweat, the worry… the grit to get to victory. As an artist who loves sports just as much as I do creative realms of free expression, I’d love to implore each of us to take a page out of any successful professional athlete’s playbook, and accept the pain as a path to the pleasure of victory.
Accept the pain as a path to the pleasure of the win.
Remember who you are, what you’re made of and why you started in the first daggon’ place.
With Aloha and a lot of Grit,
Lindsey