Grit

When someone is referred to as having character it is usually meant as a compliment. What does this thing called "character" actually mean, however? According to a wide number of sources that range from the Boy Scouts Handbook to writings by Confucius and Aristotle, it includes being in possession of such traits as fairness, wisdom, citizenship, bravery, kindness and gratitude. Who wouldn't want to be seen by others as having those kind of qualities.? I sure would. In a recent article in the NY Times Sunday magazine, there are educators looking to add another item to this list: grit.

Grit, as they mean it, is one's ability to contend with setbacks. How well does a person deal with disappointment? How well does a person take lessons from what went wrong and turn it into a valuable lesson? How well does a person reverse a failure and turn it into a success? In the article, the educators were primarily focusing on youngsters in school and their ability to cope with the reality of not doing well on a class test or assignment. It is the concern of the educators that students should learn at a young age that not everything in life goes well. As a result, in order to live a life of success, they must be able to handle disappointment and adversity.

I believe there is wisdom in this. I also view the development of "grit" as being very beneficial to anyone wishing to pursue a career in communications or public relations. Public relations is not a perfect science in that not all plans or strategies work out as well as intended. More broadly, this is definitely the case when it comes to communication. I say this because I have come to believe nearly every day, at least once, something we communicate either verbally or non-verbally is misinterpreted. Given that kind of frequency, having an abundance of grit is definitely a good thing.