I’m not giving up. This is my gift and I am giving it to you. If you resonate, you are my people. If you don’t, that’s none of my business. I am waking up, dragging myself into the thing – and writing. A writer writes, yeah? And I know the coffee gets cold, but I’m cooking it up for a steamy ride on this typewriter. I’ll knock futility aside, and pour myself another cup.
This is the grit I am talking about. This is the fire. This is not just the fire in the belly, but the fire under the feet. Let’s go. There’s an urgency in what I am putting out there, and I’m not going to let my self drag or wallow. This is a fight to materialize a creation, a dream. I am not in the zone and focused for no reason. This is it. This is Grit.
Most people misunderstand grit. They picture a warrior on a mountain, fists clenched, chin high, some cinematic moment drenched in swelling music. But real grit isn’t an event — it’s a routine. It’s brushing your teeth with tired hands, dragging your body toward a purpose you’re not even sure belongs to you yet, and doing it again tomorrow. A daily ritual doesn’t care how inspired you feel. It doesn’t wait for lightning. Grit is just the muscle memory of someone who made a small promise and kept it longer than they wanted to. I made this promise to myself – and this is my aim.
The heroic pose is what we show the world. The ritual is the part that sometimes remains hidden — the repetition, the boredom, the self-doubt, the mornings where your bones feel like unpaid bills. But that’s where the real work is. You don’t become someone strong by collecting dramatic moments; you become strong by accumulating small acts of perseverance that nobody applauds. Grit is built in the repetition of unsexy decisions. You don’t see me doing this, but I do.
Every day you wake up and choose to show up, you light a tiny candle against the dark. You don’t need a cape. You don’t need a slogan. You need a reason to stand up, even if that reason is just: “Because yesterday I didn’t quit, and I’m not ready to start quitting today.” Grit is a ritual of return — a practice of coming back to yourself, even when you’re not impressed, when you’re not moved.
ALAS! This is the moment when the crack in the dark draws in the light! The eureka moment where it’s that spark of inspiration, the rememberance of why you came here and to this place.
Remember yourself, if that’s what you got to do. Even if you pretend to be 12 again, it is you. There’s an endless energy to be tapped when you plug in. Show up even when you feel like giving up and that’s the time when everything lights up.
