In case you were wondering all that. If you are wondering what type of human characteristic it takes to endure something like the current pandemic brought on by 2019-nCoV my vote is for grit.
I am currently reading Getting-Grit-Evidence-Based-Cultivating-Perseverance and although I am only on page 26 it describes the characteristic as something we all need right now. The author Caroline Adams Miller describes grit as “passion and perseverance in pursuit of long-term goals.” Her approach to getting grit is one that has to do with finding your sole passion in life or realizing your why as you reside on planet earth. The reason you get up in the morning or rai·son d'ê·tre as the French say. However if you see grit as having the ability to see things through amidst difficult circumstances or life obstacles then we all need a lot of grit at this time and for months to come. Getting grit is going to be important to everybody looking at getting through the pandemic. Part of having grit or getting grit requires us to be focused on positive outcomes, goals and dreams. Developing a growth mind-set rather than a fixed one.
It is very easy right now to see the world and our current situation and be depressed, feel hopeless and have a pessimistic outlook. Mostly because we do not have a time frame about the pandemic. We do not have any solid evidence as to when it will end or any concrete understanding to how it will end.
A vaccine is everyone's savior right now, but it is speculative. We have some history on how vaccines are used and their effectiveness, but every situation is different. Besides one has not even been created yet and the predictions about when range from as early as October to next spring.
All of these unanswered questions are the factors leading to our uncertain future and our dominant uncertainty as a collective people.
So having the fortitude and perseverance in pursuit of a goal (a virus free world) is increasingly important for all of us. Because of restrictions due to the pandemic coupled with the fear of acquiring the virus it is on everyone's minds and lips for the majority of our day. It permeates every facet of our lives and dominates our thoughts and conversations. It is in every headline and a reoccurring topic on news, radio and podcasts. It is currently inescapable in our existence and because of the mystery of when it will end we are thrust into fear and anxiety. It is difficult to feel relaxed when going to the supermarket or a salon or a restaurant is stressful. These times require all of us to reach deep within our well of perseverance and see this through with a rational mind. It is another obstacle in life. We have all been through them. We have endured illness, financial hardship, mental unsurety. The grit we used then will work now it is only a matter of having some, most or all of these five characteristics of grit.
I will paraphrase them here: courage, conscientiousness, perseverance, resilience and passion.
Now I will let Angela Duckworth the author of The Power and Passion of Perseverance tell you all about them in detail.
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