Pluck, grit, spunk, mettle, fire — we admire it; it’s needed.
I can still remember a few years ago asking for a surgery to correct the damage done by a previous surgery. It took some courage to go there. I didn’t know if it would work, neither did the doctor. We went for it. It did work, over time, time that was constructed out of anxiety, bravery, fear, some loneliness, hope, a good bit of pain and mettle.
When we do the thing that we don’t want to do to get to the place we want to get to we tap into something deep within our human psyche — the will to survive, and thrive.
I remember interviewing once for job, on the phone, from my bedroom, with nothing left inside but the will-power to believe in myself. I had just come through the most breaking emotional experience of my life, and yet, with nothing left, I still had something left. I had me and my faith in God, and guts.
That interview went nowhere, but another one did, and as the result of my tenacity, I now have a highly meaningful, challenging and very rewarding job. I am in a good place, my leadership gifts are in full play, because I had the grit to keep moving.
Gone we can still be gamey, beaten still brave, trashed still tough. God has built a resilience into us. We are endothermic, warmed by the gift of an internal fire.
I have learned this much about difficulty and pass it on to you: If someone aims at you, charge; if they fire, open your mouth; if they hit you spit the bullet out and keep moving. If you are a doormat, get off the floor. If you are high, come back down to earth. If you are plodding through mediocrity — risk.
If God wills it, and you want it, go get it.
Thrive! 