“Grit is a devotional discipline of self-love and self-care,” says Nate. “It is about having enough respect for yourself to be able to show up for the things and the people that make you feel good.”

Nate kicks off the first of The Solitude Chronicles with a discussion on the power of grit.

After a few months of dealing with bladder cancer, through two surgeries and 12 sessions of chemo, Nate has been on a promising road to recovery, keeping in mind that it is almost always better “to let unanswered things stay unanswered.”

This experience taught Nate a thing or two about grit. The term is traditionally defined in one of two ways: “a small loose particle of stone or sand” or “courage and resolve, strength of character.” To him, both definitions hold weight.

Grit is traditionally thought of as toughness that involves a lot of teeth-gritting and fist-clenching. Nate invites us to consider what it means to have grit in a different light: grit as self-love.

That is, instead of allowing our inner critic to shame us for not doing, having, or being enough, we replace that destructive voice with one that forgives, has compassion, and allows us to show up for ourselves and others.

Key Topics:

• An update on Nate’s cancer journey (02:04)
• The traditional definition of grit (03:33)
• Grit as self-love (05:05)
• Showing up for ourselves by showing up for others (08:42)
• Moving forward regardless of how you feel in the present moment (10:39)
• Allowing love to flow by visualizing the people you are grateful for (12:48)
• Moving forward with a new definition of grit (14:48)

Resources:

• Cold Water Hot Coffee
• Jay Shetty, 8 Rules Of Love
• Quoted:  Angela Lee Duckworth
• Endurance Photo in blog post by Jon Tyson via Unsplash.com