Got Grit? That’s too bad.
When applauding a friend’s or colleague’s focused determination towards a challenging problem, could we please find another word to use other than grit?
Grit is the sand in the mussels that you bite down on and think you’ve broken a tooth. Grit is the black, grimy stuff way down behind your toenails that you have to fish out with a toothpick because that little metal hook on the end of the nail clipper is too thick to reach it all. Grit is those few scratchy pebbles that get into your hiking boot and makes walking impossible so you stop, sit down, unlace the boot, shake it out, lace it back up and continue your hike only to discover that the damn grit is now in the other boot and you have to do it all over again.
I know, I know…grit is attached to Great America because of John Wayne. Nothing was sweeter than watching little Mattie Ross placing all her trust and family savings in hiring the manifestation of “true grit” Rooster Cogburn to bring bad guy Tom Chaney to justice. Just awww...
It was just a movie, though, and people died. It was sad. That’s because grit is not comfy. Grit is bad guys and snake pits. But if you Google grit, you get hundreds of books and millions of references that will tell you grit is good; grit is the new personality trait to adopt. Grit gets things done.
But does it really? Isn’t grit just the new black? Isn’t it simply a new way to describe stick-to-itiveness? It’s stick-to-itiveness to which we aspire. It’s stick-to-itiveness that gets things done, not some new, confusing, trendy way to label being responsible. Stick-to-itiveness is from pioneer stock; it’s unshakeable convictions and dogged perseverance. But it only gets a little over 100,000 hits on Google in its varying forms of spelling.
Did we ditch stick-to-itiveness because it’s too taxing to spell?
If that’s the problem, here are five suggestions that are more faithful to the essence of stick-to-itiveness, but which can replace grit…that annoying, irritating sensation of sand in the bottom of your bathing suit.
Resolve — It’s time to take that noun back from the carpet cleaning industry and put it back into a position of social respectability where it belongs. All the good Declarations use this word (Be it Resolved…) and it’s always written in a cool, chivalrous font. Resolve just screams grit, but resolve wouldn’t scream. Resolve nods knowingly.
Fortitude — Largely known with its companion, Intestinal, we can 21st-century this word and shorten it to Fort. Forte in French and Italian means strong, so it becomes an historical, global, term. One can be Fort all over the world. Look at that…we just made up a word.
Cheek — I’d love to see cheek replace grit. Cheek begins in impudence but it brings along daring and nerve. It also carries along a little insouciance, which makes it the perfect word for women. Along with its cousin, Pluck and little sister, Moxie. Cheek isn’t disrespectful — much — and it still allows for professionalism.
Bold — A nice, non-gender specific word is Bold. However, it might need a little work, because bold men can be rakish and bold women might be scary. But bold is still in the running because bold (rakish) men could be charming and bold (scary) women can be captivating. And being bold works in both one’s private life and professional life. Could we be so bold?
Mettle — My favorite so far. It sounds strong because of its homonym metal. It is the right combination of conviction and courage; it is the serenity prayer of fearlessness. Mettle can hold a child’s hand as easily as it can face down intimidation. Someone or something is always going to come along to test one’s mettle and mettle always wins.
So long, grit. Go back to the litterbox where you belong.
Thanks for reading. A little ❤ goes a long way!
