I don’t think I fully appreciated what it meant to have “grit” until I witnessed Elizabeth Edwards battle breast cancer and a cheating husband.
Ms. Edwards eventually died of that cancer (and, some would say, a shattered heart) in 2009 after learning her husband, presidential candidate John Edwards had had an affair and a child(!) with another woman.
I ached for her.
I wondered, How much pain and heartbreak does it take to break a woman?
Ms. Edwards not only had grit (she wrote a book about it called, Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life’s Adversities), but she also had the guts and the grace, to show us “how it’s done.”
Like Hillary.
On the night of her lost bid to become the first woman president of the United States, I could only imagine the crushing blow to the heart she experienced. I was sure Hillary Clinton wouldn’t appear in public again for a very long time, but there she was, only a week later, giving a speech at a fundraiser, admitting she “wanted to curl up with a book and never leave the house again.” But it was her reminder to us all not to forget that when you get knocked down you get back up again that took my breath away.
“There is more work to do,” she said.
There IS more work to do.
Women like Edwards and Clinton, Mother Theresa and Florence Nightingale, Joan of Arc and Cleopatra, Oprah and Malala… all are towering examples of guts, grit, and grace. They remind us that our work is never done; there is always more work to do.
At times when you’re not sure how to go on, stud
y these women.
This isn’t about politics, or religion, and this most certainly isn’t about comparing ourselves to other women and using it as an opportunity to beat ourselves up.
This is about you and your willingness to keep fighting the fight. To get back up when you get knocked down. And it’s about leaning on the grit of other women when yours appears to have gone A.W.O.L.
What Is Grit?
The dictionary defines grit as “firmness of character” and an “indomitable spirit.”
Whether we’re trying to lose weight or build a business, rebuild a marriage or get out of debt, recover from illness or become president of the United States, a certain strength of character is required.
Here’s the good news: Strength of character can be cultivated, as can an indomitable spirit.
The first step is to understand who you are and what you stand for.
The second step is to ask yourself whether you’re willing to actually stand up for it.
Are you willing to walk your talk?
Are you willing to show up when you would prefer to hide?
Are you willing to feel embarrassed or afraid rather than small and invisible?
Are you willing to keep making forward progress even when you “can’t imagine” yourself doing that thing you’ve never done before?
We are works in progress, Girlfriend. Let us not grow weary.
There is more work to do.
