Stubbornness.

I’ve been immensely stubborn, and still am at times. I try not to be though, as I don’t think stubbornness is something that makes me a better person.

Quite frankly, stubbornness is what 2-year olds show. They’re stubborn as hell when they get their thoughts fixed on something. Teenagers as well, they’re highly convinced they’ve got things figured out, especially in contrast to their parents.

Stubbornness is like rage: it’s blind and often foolish.

The behaviour of being stubborn can be very similar to grit, a characteristic I think is very important to have. Grit, in opposition to stubbornness, is not blind. It’s thoughtful, intentional and determined. Grit is setting a direction and giving your all to go there.

The reason to why I want to bring all of this up is that a lot of us are stubborn when we’d benefit from practicing grit. We’d benefit from seeing dips and actively deciding whether or not to go through them. Instead, a lot of us just keep going, head bent down like a teenager who’s grumpy and wants to get back at their parents.

It’s all about being intentional: Do things because you want to do them. Get aware of what you’re doing because of any other reason and re-evaluate it.