Grit = passion and perseverance for very long term goals.
Grit = dirt.
My approach this time around seems to involve delving in to some topics to find out what people know that might help me win this game. I learned about grit today - you know, that thing that overweight people need in spades in order to be successful? It's no surprise to me to discover that I'm not very gritty. A combination of a lazy streak and a personality that reacts emotionally to *everything* in a somewhat childish way makes it hard for me to keep my eye on the prize.
Psychologists still don't know if grit can be taught, other than having found that when a person fails but knows on some level that failure is not a permanent condition, he will be more likely to try again. That's the rub. Overweight feels like a permanent condition to me. Trying diet after diet and failing. Giving in more easily each time, somehow convinced I'll never get there. That's my mindset.
Grit. Maybe one way to learn it is to distract yourself from the looming failure (yesterday's blog). Maybe it comes from embracing the grit. Roll around in that dirt, let it invade your every pore.
Yes this workout hurts so bad. Yes I'm hating the boring repetition of it. Who cares! Embrace the boredom! Yell through the pain! I can do it all through my weakness, the fact that dieting sucks, the idea that it will take forever to undo the damage I've done. It's all dirt, and I'm going to rub it over my skin and crow. Because even though this is gritty work, I don't mind getting dirty. I've got grit all over the place.
Join me in the pigpen, people. Embrace this messy life with me, because grit is glorious.