Grit Is a Skill, Not a Personality Trait

Grit. Just hearing the word probably conjures up a very specific image: some battle-hardened woman who never flinches, never cries, never doubts. The kind of person who gets knocked down nine times and springs up on the tenth without breaking a sweat—or a hair out of place.

And maybe you think: Yeah, I’m not that. Here’s the good news—you don’t have to be. Nobody is born gritty. Grit isn't a magic gift or a fixed part of your DNA. It’s a skill. A muscle. Something you train through repetition, mistakes, boredom, discomfort—and showing up anyway.

If you're sitting around waiting to "feel" tougher before you do the hard things, you’re wasting time. It’s time to stop expecting yourself to be indestructible straight out of the gate. Grit isn’t something you have. It's something you build.

The Grit Myth (And Why It’s a Trap)

We’ve been sold a bad story about resilience. Movies, articles, even the occasional “rise and grind” post on LinkedIn make it seem like some people are just naturally tough—like grit is something you're either born with or you’re not. Especially for women, the myth cuts even deeper: you're either “strong enough” or you're “too emotional,” “too sensitive,” “too soft.”

The truth? According to psychologist Angela Duckworth, grit is passion and perseverance applied over a long time horizon—not talent, not toughness, not luck. In her landmark research, Duckworth found that grit outperforms IQ, experience, and even access to resources when it comes to predicting long-term success.

Yet despite this, many women internalize the idea that if they struggle, if they feel fear or doubt, it must mean they aren't cut out for leadership, business, or entrepreneurship. But struggle doesn't mean you're unqualified. It means you’re in the trenches, doing the work most people won't. Struggle is not a weakness; it’s the training ground where grit is forged.

What Grit Actually Looks Like (Spoiler: It’s Not Sexy)

Let’s clear something up—real grit doesn’t look like a polished movie montage. There’s no inspiring soundtrack playing while you conquer your goals. Most of the time, grit looks boring.

It looks like sending a fourth follow-up email even though you’re 90% sure you’ll be ignored again. It looks like rewriting your sales page after a failed launch, even though you’d rather crawl under a blanket and forget about it. It looks like dragging yourself to that client call after a string of rejections, exhausted and doubting yourself, but showing up anyway.

Real grit isn’t glamorous. It’s not Instagrammable. It’s not the kind of thing that goes viral until years later when you package it into a tidy success story. Grit is daily, invisible persistence. It’s staying on the field when quitting would be easier—and doing it even when no one’s clapping.

How to Actually Build Grit

If grit isn’t magic and it’s not genetic, how do you actually build it? Here's where the real work begins:

First, normalize discomfort. Too often we interpret resistance or difficulty as a sign that we’re on the wrong path. We think, “Maybe this isn’t for me.” But discomfort isn’t a warning. It’s a sign you’re doing something that stretches you. Growth, by definition, feels uncomfortable. Expect it. Plan for it. Learn to sit with it instead of backing away.

Next, prioritize consistency over motivation. Motivation is unreliable—it shows up when things are fun and disappears when things get hard. Consistency, however, will carry you through both. You don’t have to slay every day. You just have to keep showing up, even when you’re tired, uninspired, or doubting yourself. That’s what builds strength over time.

You also need to reframe failure—or it will break you. Failure is inevitable. The entrepreneurs who succeed long-term aren't the ones who avoid failure; they're the ones who learn from it faster. Treat every flop as feedback. Ask: What worked? What didn’t? What will I do differently next time? Every embarrassing moment, every rejection, every awkward misstep—it’s all valuable training data.

Finally, celebrate effort, not just outcomes. If you only validate yourself when you succeed, you’ll burn out. Grit grows when you recognize the effort itself—the pitches you sent, the articles you wrote, the launches you survived. Acknowledge the process, not just the result. The more you celebrate showing up, the easier it becomes to keep doing it. 

Why Building Grit Matters More Than “Being Tough”

Here’s the real truth about entrepreneurship: it’s not about being the smartest or having the biggest war chest. It’s about who keeps showing up when things get hard.

Research proves it. A 2024 study in the South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases found that entrepreneurial resilience—specifically self-compassion and adaptability—is a key factor in long-term business survival. Meanwhile, work published in the Journal of Business Research shows that persistence—staying actively engaged even when momentum stalls—is a major predictor of business success, regardless of initial resources.

Translation? It's not the entrepreneurs who had the easiest path who survive and thrive. It's the ones who keep moving through the messy middle, even when the wins feel a million miles away.

Talent fades. Luck runs dry. Motivation comes and goes.

But grit—the habit of persistence stacked day after day—is what compounds into real, lasting success. 

Real Talk: Grit Is a Muscle You Build, Not a Medal You Win 

Here’s what I want you to remember the next time you feel like quitting: Grit isn’t about being fearless. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about choosing to stay in the game when everything in you says, “This is too hard.”

You’re not broken because you have doubts. You’re not doomed because you have bad days. You’re human—and you’re building the muscle every single time you decide to try again.

Every follow-up email you send, every uncomfortable conversation you have, every risk you take after a setback—that's grit. And it’s those messy, persistent, invisible reps that are quietly stacking up to carry you farther than you realize.

So next time you start asking yourself, "Am I cut out for this?" — flip the question.

Instead, ask: "What's one gritty move I can make today—even if it’s tiny?"

Make it.
Move forward.
Repeat.

The wins will take care of themselves.