02 Oct 5 ways to build your grit!
Happiness isn't just about enjoying the good times, it's also about getting through the tough times.
And tough times are times we all have; which is why resiience is such an important construct within Positive Psychology.
And the good news is that resilience, or grit, can be built; and along with resilience and grit we can, then, increase our happiness.
If this is something you'd like to do then read on for 5 great tips via PsychCentral…
by Claire Dorotik-Nana
According To Dr. Martin Seligman, the author of the bestselling, Learned Optimism, and considered by many to be the father of positive psychology, grit is the single most important skill to overall success at any goal. Tested across many different contexts, the grit score has held ground as the strongest predictor — when compared to the 23 other character strengths that Seligman identifies — of whether a person fails or succeeds.
Yet grit is seldom taught, and is something that public schools are only just beginning to speak about, thanks to Paul Tough’s bestselling book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character. Yet for all of the attention Tough has brought to the way we teach children, examples of grit are rare.
But it matters. After all, we all have goals, we all have dreams, we all want success. And we are all going to need it because failures happen to everyone. But what separates those who ultimately succeed from those who fail is grit. So just what do you do to get grit? Here are five ways.
Make Commitment Automatic
Commitment for most people is not automatic. You have to convince yourself every morning to get up and go for a run, because a part of you just doesn’t want to. So you put your shoes out, charge up the ipod, set the alarm fifteen minutes early — whatever it takes — because when the morning rolls around you are still convincing yourself. On the other hand, you don’t have to convince yourself to brush your teeth. You just do it because not brushing them isn’t an option. The commitment to do it is already there — automatic. Not surprising then that people who have grit also have an “unwavering approach to their goals,” and they don’t question what needs to be done to reach them. Instead, they just do it — automatically.
Manage Your Failures
Failures have a unique way of introducing you to yourself. And depending on who you are, you can see failures as permanent, pervasive, and personal — the three responses Seligman identifies with low levels of optimism and grit. People who think in these ways about failures take a long time to rebound, and some don’t ever. But on the other hand, some people just can’t be knocked down. Why? Because people with grit make failure temporary — quickly assigning it to things that can be improved, as oppose to permanent features of character — keep it in perspective — while they may fail in one area, they persist on in all other areas, well aware that one has nothing to do with the other — and they don’t take failure personally — instead they take responsibility…
…keep reading the full & original article HERE