Grit and Ambition

For the past three years, I have had a vision to create a fitness training app that assists with ratio-based training, along with perceived exertion and reps-in-reserve. Not only will it log all types of movements with that relevant unit of measure, but you will also be able to use three different types of weight settings for a strength movement. For example, deadlift, you have three options, you could use your recent personal best weight, a training max you set at 90% from your recent personal best, or a personalized recovery weight that you set at 60% of your recent personal best weight. The connection of that movement information into your sessions to not only save time, but to also help keep track of what you do and when. No longer will that information be tucked into notes somewhere only to get lost.

My Career Focus

I left my last job to purse this idea that has been haunting me for the past three years. However, working full time and having two young kids under 4-years-old, leaves no time for those pursuits. During my time in that job, I realized I was not in the right place, I had followed the money and that false path’s emptiness was really starting to show. As Green expands on false paths, he mentions how you feel that emptiness and rarely find any fulfillment that you crave (Green, 2012, p.37). It was liberating to leave my job, knowing I was not only free, but I was also getting back on track to where I needed to be. Quickly though, I realized there was so much I didn’t know about business and had no idea where to go. That’s when I found the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Master’s of Science with Full Sail. I was ecstatic, not only would I get help with what I was going to pursue anyways, I was also going to get that missing business education I never received. Allowing me to give my all in this minimum viable product that I have been dreaming about for so long.

Reflection on Results

After taking the Grit and Ambition Scale assessments, my results were very accurate. For both, I am above average, but not off the charts. In the Grit assessment, I scored a 3.92. And for the Ambition Scale I scored a 3.8. I want to help others in a way that is effective, yet I do not have the desire to be famous in any way. I have always been a behind the scenes person who enjoys being useful and helpful, but in no way, shape, or form do I desire any sort of spotlight. Being in the same room or space with like-minded individuals gives me a much bigger high than any sort of publicity. In the TED Talk about Grit, Dr. Duckworth’s quote really resonated with me, “Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint” (Duckworth, 2013, 3:24). This is how I view many things in my life and it was refreshing to hear her mention that mindset in her talk. I found that the questions in the assessments that talked about changing interests is when I scored lower and scored higher on anything asking about if I work hard.

My Strengths

As someone who did not enjoy high school, I have learned that if you are willing to learn and work hard enough, you can learn just about anything. That’s been my biggest realization. Yes, I might have moments of doubt, but I recognize them, acknowledge those feelings, and then let them pass. I plan as much as I can, then I go and do the things that need to get done. Shortly after high school, I started strength training and fell in love with it. I genuinely believe my diligence stems from there. I show up and train, and I strive to do the same in life to the best of my abilities. As quoted in the book Stretch, “This is the underlying rationale for grit: a never-yielding commitment to self-discipline” (Willyerd, 2016, para 17).The gym taught me discipline and that has carried over into life well.

My Weaknesses

For setbacks, as frustrating as those are, I have continued to improve on not getting derailed, to take a moment, breathe, and then find the new way forward. I have learned to ask more questions, look for the silver lining, and to keep the big picture in mind. As stated so well in Stretch, highly resilient people focus on what they can learn from an experience (Willyerd, 2016). I get shiny object syndrome and go down rabbit holes for ideas and projects. Figuring out new things is extremely exciting to me, so it’s hard to resist the rabbit holes. To mitigate this, I have tried to set and keep milestones for current projects that are attainable. What doesn’t help the shiny object syndrome is if I do not feel like I am moving forward enough in the current project. And that circles back to show I need to work on the milestones I created. With all that being said, I do recognize the need to take a mental break and switch gears. So, I create an allotted time for that mental break and then get back to work.

Summation

This has been an excellent reflection exercise on talking about my why as well as touching on strengths and weaknesses. It was nice to write it all out, this will be an excellent paper to revisit to at the end of this course as well as end of this program to reflect on changes. And writing this paper has also been a good warm up back into the student mindset, refreshing those muscles again.

References

Duckworth, A. L. ( 2013, May 9). Grit: the Power of Passion and Perseverance. TED Talks. Retrieved from YouTube

Greene, R. (2012, November 13). Mastery. Viking Adult.

Willyerd, K., Mistick, B., & Grenny, J. (2016, January 26). Stretch. O’Reilly Books.