The sermon last Sunday at Hope Church was entitled “Grit.” An image of a tree blowing in the wind – yet remaining intact – was visible on the screen. It was honestly a better image than the one to the left here but this gives you the visual. A tiny tree against the elements refusing to let go – this is what we call grit – and it is the best attribute you can have as an athlete.
Grit is the x-factor that defies athletic talent. Athletic success is much more about the level of grit an athlete has than his talent – combine both and you have something world-class. On race day, grit allows an athlete to perform better than any race prediction, to defy possibility.
Within each of us, our level of grit fluctuates over time, often due to recent successes/failures and our motivation level. We must actively work to preserve our grit. Sometimes this means creating opportunities to succeed, seeking tough workouts, or taking a week off from training to build our grit back up. We must keep our grit level high!
As coaches, we are not only training the physical but also the mental – we are developing grit. We take this to heart at Endorphin Fitness and believe this is one of the areas we can have the biggest impact on an athlete’s life, both athletically and elsewhere. We look for ways to make our athletes tougher so that on race day and in life, they will come out on top. There is no better thing we can teach someone as coaches.
The wind is going to keep blowing – sometimes harder than we can imagine. This is a constant, especially if you choose to do hard things in life like race endurance events. Make sure your grit level is always high so that you will be ready for the winds.
Be More. Live Red.
Michael Harlow
EF Founder & Head Coach
