My sister wrote a great email last week to her clients. She’s a personal stylist. Find her here if you are looking for inspiration: https://www.hannaleestyle.com/ ????????
She mentioned one of her client’s biggest fears: “I was nervous nothing would fit…” and her superpower: sizing! Makes total sense right?
For her, her genius is in the knowing and the workarounds: multiple sizes brought to customers, range of styles flattering for certain body types, a personal seamstress to tweak things as needed.
Brilliance at every turn.
It had me thinking… what’s my superpower? [One hint: it has nothing to do with styling; in fact I joke that I partly choose my profession in order to be able to wear sneakers and PJs (scrubs) to work.]
She and I chatted for a minute… and grit was what we came up with. So, what’s yours??
A little more about Grit, coined by Angela Duckworth’s book: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.
She walked readers through cadets at West Point to look at what made cadets stick it through ‘Beast Barracks’ vs quit. From her research, evolved grit: defined as a combination of passion and perseverance, and the link in achieving long-term goals. She also talks about growth mindset, deliberate practice, the role of purpose and the importance of finding meaning in one’s pursuits, and strategies for staying motivated and committed to long-term goals.
But I can also see grit as a kryptonite at times. Maybe you can relate? Have you ever stuck with a job, relationship, investment for much longer than you should have?
There’s a concept called the sunk cost fallacy. It’s the tendency to follow through on something if we have already invested time, effort, or money into it, regardless of whether the current costs outweigh the benefits.
But where I see it personally show up and show up for clients most is this: opportunity cost. By persisting with ‘sunk costs,’ you miss out on potentially better opportunities (spouse, job, investment, etc) ????????????????.
So what’s the fix?
Overcoming the fallacy: To avoid this bias, focus on future costs and benefits, ignoring past unrecoverable costs. The past is in the past. What you make that mean is up to you… What you do next is also up to you… So back to grit: superpower vs kryptonite? It’s probably both, unless harnessed carefully. Passion and perseverance have led many of us to where we are. But if you are thinking about some changes, don’t let the time, money, and effort of what got you here prevent you from throwing that passion and perseverance into your NEXT thing.
| Coaching moves you forward and that’s why I love it! It allows you to make your impact without losing yourself. It allows you to create a life you love, and leave behind what you don’t. Coaching helps overcome the sunk costs, especially the guilt, shame, and disappointment that comes with it. And coaching helps evaluate the opportunity costs from a more objective lens. You get to build your future proactively, not reacting to the past and its limits. And guess what, I get to use my superpower, grit, to help you find your passion and persevere to get there… Back to you: What’s your superpower?? How can coaching help you harness it? |
