In 2004, I had a big problem. My 2 year old daughter was an expert at taking out all of her toys. When you're living in a small 2 bedroom apartment, this is actually a HUGE problem. My wife and I set out to teach our daughter to clean up after herself. Our first attempt was to bring her into her room and tell her to put the toys back where they belonged. Simple enough, but for a two-year old looking over the vast expanse of her bedroom with toys strewn everywhere, it was completely overwhelming. She had no idea where to start. Our second attempt was a lot more effective as we gathered the toys into small piles and instructed our daughter to put away 1 pile of toys at a time. Voila! Our two year old easily cleaned up the piles and ultimately her entire room. And we bragged that our two year old now cleans her own room!
This simple and somewhat patronizing story, illustrates another important mindset for those that are gritty...
Don't allow circumstances to paint your picture
Do focus on painting your own picture in spite of your circumstances
There was a significant matter at hand that made a huge difference in the grittiness of our daughter in that simple toddler problem: perspective on her circumstances. My wife and I, as full grown adults, we could see the entire room, wall to wall, from our much taller perspective. The circumstances of the toys all over the place were mere inconveniences to be dealt with. From her two year old height she was ground level so seeing the entire room was more challenging and all of the toys were in the way! Gritty people always keep their minds eye on the big picture and don't let the small problems block their vision of that big picture.
How about you? Who's painting your big picture? Your circumstances? Or your vision, commitment, passion, and perseverance to paint it yourself?
This simple and somewhat patronizing story, illustrates another important mindset for those that are gritty...
Don't allow circumstances to paint your picture
Do focus on painting your own picture in spite of your circumstances
There was a significant matter at hand that made a huge difference in the grittiness of our daughter in that simple toddler problem: perspective on her circumstances. My wife and I, as full grown adults, we could see the entire room, wall to wall, from our much taller perspective. The circumstances of the toys all over the place were mere inconveniences to be dealt with. From her two year old height she was ground level so seeing the entire room was more challenging and all of the toys were in the way! Gritty people always keep their minds eye on the big picture and don't let the small problems block their vision of that big picture.
How about you? Who's painting your big picture? Your circumstances? Or your vision, commitment, passion, and perseverance to paint it yourself?
BLOG BIO
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on
being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read
about it more here.
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader and Director
of Athletics at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. He’s earned a few degrees
and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school sweetheart and
they have three teen age children. Life is messy and complicated most of the
time. You can follow him on Twitter
for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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