There's a video circulating on social media this week, that discusses what factors are a predictor of success in school and life. The speaker's suggestion? Unsurprisingly, that it's not IQ, nor even social intelligence, but apparently, grit. What is grit? The video essentially describes it as determination for the long haul.
I like the qualifier "for the long haul". In sports, we watch games where one team fights right to the end, makes a dramatic comeback, and prevails in the end. We sometimes call that "determination". There's another video that's done the rounds, about a kid who almost single-handedly leads his tug-of-war team to victory by doggedly refusing to be dragged across the line, even when, at one point, he was the only one left on his team. These are all great and dramatic examples. But... they're one offs. Can you come back and do that again? And again? And again?
Tim Duncan, widely regarded as the greatest power forward ever in basketball, played 19 years at the highest level. He won innumerable team and personal awards, but was best known for his consistency. His nickname was not some cool moniker like "The Black Mamba" or "The Answer" but wonkily, "The Big Fundamental", because he kept it simple. I can't remember any particular highlight from his career, other than his classic mid-range bank shot off the backboard, which is the shot that beginners to the game usually start with. But he kept doing it over and over and over again, for 19 years, winning championship after championship. For context - the average NBA career is just 4.8 years. Grit!
Something that is a little lesser known is that Tim Duncan's mother passed away just before he turned 14, and she made him and his siblings promise to finish college with a degree. And that's why Tim Duncan finished all four years of college before entering the NBA draft, and being picked No. 1. For those of you who don't follow basketball, this is a big deal. In the twenty years since Tim Duncan was drafted in 1997, only 2 other No. 1 picks (Kenyon Martin and Michael Olowakandi) have finished college before entering the NBA. And of the 17 No. 1 picks since Kenyon Martin, 2 completed only 2 years of college, and the others only completed 1 year! Why? Because you get paid millions for signing a NBA contract. But Tim Duncan showed grit! Never mind the millions. Finish the job, fulfil the promise.
But Dictionary.com further describes grit as "courage and resolve; strength of character". I like that. Because merely doing the same thing over and over again with determination isn't necessarily smart either. Grit sometimes also involves the courage and resolve to change the status quo, make things uncomfortable, and step outside the comfort zone. Are we doing what we are supposed to do with our lives? Or are we just going through the motions? That same video I referred to in the beginning of this blog alludes to this - grit also involves the belief that our capacity is not pre-determined, and has not yet been filled - that by working at something, we can get better.
These are good questions to ask ourselves: do you believe you can do better? Do you believe you can do something you have no idea how to do today? That is, not just an incremental improvement, but the next step up? I tell our lawyers - how prepared are you to step away from the comfort of our training on caveats and blandly neutral advice on options A and B, and instead take ownership to say "do B!". Conversely, I tell our non-legal team members - how prepared are you to dig deep, understand the laws and regulations yourself, and form your own view, instead of merely relying on "the lawyers said so". And for our junior colleagues - it's great that you can be counted on to produce your own good work - now, how prepared are you to lead and start taking ownership for other people's work?
What about our personal lives? Do we have the resolve not only to keep doing the good stuff, but to change those things that just don't make sense? If God is using us effectively in a workplace to advance His kingdom, will we stick it out regardless of setbacks? Conversely, will we make a change if our otherwise attractive jobs or pay are keeping us away from what really needs to be done?
What about in our homes? Do we have the strength of character to say to our teens - let's start today. It's not too late. Ditch the phone addiction. Devotions everyday. Family time every week. What about our marriages? So what if we are 老夫老妻? Do we take it for granted? Are we dating our spouses, spending time to talk, taking the effort to encourage and to love? Let me change!
What about in our ministry? Do we have the courage to say to our cell members - no one new ever comes to our cell because we have it on the wrong day or place - let's change! Or realise that the church is not made up of a building but people - but I'm not in a community that I can bless, and my faith is merely "personal". Let me change!
I can't write an entry like this without mentioning my Dad - who is to me, the epitome of grit. Born during WW2. Nth in a family with kids numbering (and not merely aged) in the teens! Limited opportunity for education - stopped at O levels. Worked as an office clerk. Believed he could do more - learned accounting. Believed he could do better - went into business, door to door. Rejected over and over. Change again - ran a warehouse. Believed he could do better - got a logistics management diploma. Started running. At the age of 40+ ran a 4 hour marathon! Went into business again. Got sued. Never mind - plough on. Ran a quarry in Indonesia! Lost a beloved son - yet found God and today pursues God hotly! At the age of 70+ - still ran (and not merely jogged) a 10k with me!
Grit. Determination - for the long haul! Courage and resolve - to change for the better!
Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1
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