Book 82 - A Year of Magical Learning

Reflection Title – The Hard Thing Rule

Book - Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

Book Description: In this instant New York Times bestseller, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed—be it parents, students, educators, athletes, or businesspeople—that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.”

Reflection:

I loved at the very end of this book that the author talks about how she applies the concept of “Grit” in her and her family’s life each and every day. They employ something that they call “The Hard Thing Rule” where everyone in the family has to always take on something that is “hard”. They can pick any activity that is challenging that the person wants to do. It can be learning to play the piano, training for a marathon, drawing, surfing, your day job, etc. The only main rule of this challenge is to see it through until the end after you start whether you end up liking it or not.

The goal of the hard things rule is to find your passions through the actions and activities you take in life. Figure out what gets your mind racing where you can’t stop thinking about it. Stumble upon that activity that you could see yourself doing for a lifetime and never getting tired of it. That is grit in a nutshell, something you can do forever and have it never get old.

I love this rule because it is a practical way to find the activities that unlock your passions in life. I think we can all get so bogged down in the idea that whatever new things we start should begin as a passion. The truth is that no activities ever begin as a passion…how could you ever know if a new activity that you are embarking on is something you want to do every single day for the rest of your life? That is impossible, and sadly, prevents so many people from even trying.

I didn’t begin writing because I was “passionate” about writing. I began writing because I had a purpose, a mission, and a story I had to tell. That purpose was to share my daughter’s life with the world and to personally live a life of courage, strength, and endurance that she showed me is possible as I watched her epic struggle and fight for life after she was born at 22 weeks old.

I choose writing initially as the activity I wanted to share this purpose with the world. I could have chosen a video blog, art, my current day job, or 1,000 other ways to express myself. I choose writing to try out in the beginning. With my purpose and mission, I took on my personal “hard thing” activity to try and sit down to write each and every morning to write at least 30 minutes for my daughter and to share our story with the world. After a year, it turned into a 400-page book. After 2 years, I’m now working on my second book, and I think I just love writing at this point. I have found a new passion for writing in my life. I literally don’t want to imagine a world where I don’t get to write something each and every day for the rest of my life. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about the next thing I want to write that coming day. I’m literally obsessed. I can officially say that I have a passion that I’m happy to persevere with for the rest of my days.

I got lucky with writing and having it turn into a passion, but these days, I have a more systematic way of unlocking new passions. Each month, I take a look at my core values and find a new activity that I can try out that reflects at least one or more of my values. I then set a monthly “Hard Things Challenge” where I try to incorporate that activity into my life every day for a month to see if it has the potential to turn into a passion. It works incredibly well. One of those monthly challenges is how this Year of Magical Learning Adventure began.

The true key to finding grit, in my mind, is to align your values with the activities you do and passion is sure to follow eventually. The perseverance comes with having a purpose and a why. When you combine values, a why, and a purpose together…grit will be a natural byproduct.

Question: What activities can you try out today that reflect your values that just might turn into a passion?

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Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - Grit

YOML Bookstore - Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth