Grit and Gratitude – How to Wire Your Brain for Success

By Guest Blogger, Danita Bye

As a young salesperson with Xerox, I read Dale Carnegie’s book, How to Win Friends, and Influence People. The book is packed with great human relationship principles. There was one principle that caught my attention. I posted it on a few 3 X 5 cards and taped it next to my telephone, my mirror, and on the dashboard of my car. It says, “Don’t Criticize, Condemn or Complain.”

If you can’t Criticize, Condemn, or Complain, what can you do instead?

The answer? Be grateful!

To practice a grateful mindset, I intentionally took a moment to reflect on two items, regardless of whether I thought it went brilliantly, or it was a complete failure.

• I wrote down three things that went well during the sales call. I took time to be intentionally grateful for my current skills, selling acumen, and mindsets.
• Then, I wrote down three things I could do better next time. I didn’t write down what I did wrong. I focused on continuous improvement. That forced me to be grateful for the progress I had made in my selling acumen.

That year, I finished #3 in the Region.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but in doing these GRATITUDE exercises, I was developing GRIT and wiring my brain for success.

When I mention these GRATITUDE practices to leaders, I often hear them confess, “Well, I know those are Best Practices, but I don’t do them.”

What’s stopping us from doing what’s good for us?

I believe there are two strong cultural factors that cause us to stall out.

First, the Blame-Game Culture. It seems like the American way of doing things is to blame others when something in our lives goes wrong.  Studies show that at least 60% tend to play this game.

As a participant in the Blame-Game Culture, you undermine your God-given brilliance.

Let’s go back to my Xerox example. If the sales call went horrible, I had options.

• I can blame the economy for my lack of performance.
• I can blame the client for not being willing to spend money on a reputable product.
• ..I can take personal responsibility and ask, “What might I do to make a difference? Or, what might I do to improve my questioning and listening skills? Or, my selling acumen?

You have a choice every single day. In choosing GRATITUDE exercises, you develop GRIT and wire your brain for success.

The second cultural factor is this. Financial experts call this time in world history an Era of Exponential Progress. It happens about every 500 years. Things change at lighting speed. For some, that’s exciting. For others, its fear-inducing.

Problem: Fear makes it impossible to think. You lose your resilience, your grit. You’re more prone to Criticize, Condemn, or Complain.

What’s the antidote?

Gratitude.

Want to build GRIT and to wire your brain for success? Choose gratitude above grumbling and fear. That’s the key to success!

Danita

DANITA BYE, M.A. is a leadership and sales development expert.  She’s a Forbes Coaches Council author, Harvard Business School MBA sales coach, and a TEDx speaker on Millennial Leadership. Learn more at DanitaBye.com