Gratitude isn’t just about saying “thank you” for the good stuff—it’s also about the lessons hidden in disappointments, detours, and even the people who let you down. In this short but powerful reflection, discover how reframing setbacks as blessings builds true grit, fuels hope, and equips you to push through life’s toughest seasons with resilience and clarity.
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The Kind Of Gratitude That Gives You Grit
Unlocking Grit From Hope: The Power Of Gratitude
I am so glad you’re here. We’ve talked about gratitude lots of different times, but what we haven’t talked about before is the gratitude that gives you grit. Do you know what grit is? It’s that ability to just get through the toughest situations, to know that they’re going to work out, to know that you can keep going and do whatever it is that you need to do to get to the other side. I’m not talking about just putting up with anything and everything.
Gratitude For The “Bad”: How Challenges Lead To Better Outcomes
I’m talking about the grit that comes from having hope, from knowing that things are working out for you, not happening to you. To that end, my favorite gratitude is the gratitude for the people that frickin’ suck. What? No, I’m serious. The things that did not work out in my favor led to something else that worked out much better.
I have huge gratitude for some assholes I’ve dated because if they hadn’t acted that way, then I wouldn’t have the amazing partner I have today. I’d maybe be with them if they’d sucked a little less. I am super grateful for not getting my dream job when I was working in the financial industry, which was my first sales job that I really wanted to get, because the person who got that job ended up getting fired because we lost that client.
Later, when I did get my first sales job, I got a way better client. It was the gratitude that I had for that happening that really helped me when I wanted to get hired by an amazing company before I left corporate. I didn’t end up getting that role. I didn’t get that role not because I wasn’t qualified, not because they didn’t want me, but because they thought it would be wrong to hire me away from a company they partnered with.
If you can be grateful for all the difficult things that have happened to you, then you can build all the grit you'll ever need in life. Share on XThat was really devastating news at the time, but I remembered how not getting the sales job that I’d wanted to get so many years before ended up working out for me. I thought, “I’m just going to keep looking. I’m just going to keep waiting for the thing that has meant for me because I know I’m not supposed to be here anymore.” It gave me the grit to start my own company.
Building Unstoppable Grit: Embracing All Experiences
To realize that sometimes things that happen that don’t seem like a good thing are actually going to work out for you, and to keep on going. What is that thing for you? What are the things that you’re grateful for that didn’t work out? The people who were absolutely terrible, but you’re glad they were. I have another one.
I had an absolutely awful boss early on in my career, and I am so grateful for him because he taught me all the things that I wouldn’t want to do with employees. Things that I might have mistakenly done. Talking over people. Taking credit for other people’s ideas. Not giving folks the autonomy to do the things they want. Not allowing for input and good ideas because he knew best. Going through that, I was so grateful for because it made me such a better leader. I was hyper-focused on doing the opposite of what he had done when I was in a position of leadership.
Think about all of these different things, all of these things that have happened to you that you can be grateful for, whether they’re people, places, things you got, things you didn’t get, illnesses you had, ways you stumbled, failures you’ve made. If you can be grateful for those, you can build more grit than you are ever going to need in life. Here’s to your success.
