The Daily Decisions That Make You Stronger (and Freer)
Why Small, Intentional Choices Build Grit for the Long Haul
I was ten minutes into a half ironman and already wanting to quit.
The swim was brutal—57-degree water, even with extra neoprene, it was cold. Every breath felt like a fight, and the chill hit like a slap every time I put my face in the water.
All around me, people were pulling off for help, tapping out, or drifting toward the lifeguards for a break. Around 350 didn’t finish the swim at all (1/10th of racers).
And I get it. I wanted out, too.
I was staring down several more hours of racing—with the whole bike and run still ahead—and my brain was already screaming to stop as I moved slowly through the cold water.
I barely made the swim cutoff, dragging myself out of the water with just nine minutes to spare.
But I didn’t quit. Not because I felt strong. Not because I had something to prove.
I kept going because I’d made a choice—long before race day—that I would go until they make me stop.
That’s grit. Not the loud, dramatic kind. But the quiet kind that shows up when no one’s clapping. The kind you build in everyday moments—the tiny decisions where you say yes to the harder thing, even when no one would blame you for backing off.
“Grit is doing what you don’t want to do, to be who you want to be.”— David Goggins
Grit Is Built, Not Born
When most people hear the word grit, they picture something intense. Suffering. Grinding. Pushing yourself past all limits.
But real grit isn’t about punishing yourself or chasing hardship for the sake of it. It’s not about being tough all the time.
It’s about being steady when it counts, especially when it would be easier to back off.
Grit shows up in quiet, ordinary moments. It’s the decision to keep moving when the excitement wears off. To get up and train, even when no one’s waiting on you. To keep showing up for your goals when progress feels slow, invisible, or even backwards.
It’s not about being fearless. It’s about acting anyway, while the doubt, discomfort, or noise in your head is still there.
Grit is built through small acts of self-leadership. You make the choice. You take the step. You do the rep.
You ride it out when it gets hard—not because you “should,” but because deep down, you want what’s on the other side more than you want out.
It doesn’t always feel bold in the moment. But those decisions stack up. And over time, they create something way stronger than motivation.
They build trust. And once you trust yourself to follow through, you stop needing perfect conditions to keep going.
You just keep going—because it feels like the kind of life you want to be living.
Why Grit Outlasts Motivation
Motivation is flashy. It feels good. It’s what gets you fired up to start something new—launch a project, make a plan, sign up for the thing that scares you.
But motivation fades. It always does.
And when it does, you’re left with whatever habits, decisions, and identity you’ve built underneath it.
That’s where grit takes over.
Grit is what helps you follow through when the mood is gone. It’s what gets you to keep going when your energy’s low, when no one’s watching, when the spark isn’t there. It’s what shows up when you’ve lost momentum and have to decide whether you’re still in—or if you’re done.
Motivation is what you feel. Grit is what you do.
And the more often you choose action when it’s uncomfortable—not extreme suffering, just the decision to lean in instead of coast with comfort—the more you build proof that you can handle hard things. That kind of self-trust sticks.
This doesn’t just apply to training or big goals, either.
It’s the same when you:
Say no to a distraction that’s pulling you off track
Get up early to make space for something that matters to you
Stick with a commitment even when no one would blame you for bailing
Every time you do that, you add to the story you’re living. You see yourself as someone who follows through. Someone who doesn’t need perfect conditions to make progress.
And once you trust yourself like that, everything shifts. You stop second-guessing every bump in the road. You stop waiting for the right moment. You just keep going.
Not because it’s easy. Because it’s yours.
How to Build Grit One Day at a Time
Grit doesn’t come from one big moment. It’s built through small, quiet choices—especially the ones no one sees.
It starts by paying attention.
Not to what’s flashy or impressive—but to the small moments you usually dismiss. The ones that don’t feel like they matter… but always do.
That early alarm you keep snoozing
That walk you meant to take
The project you told yourself you’d restart this week
Nobody’s watching. No one’s grading you. That’s what makes these choices so real.
When there’s no pressure, no audience, no finish line—you get to be honest:
Do you still want it?
Does this still matter to you?
That’s where grit lives—not in forcing your way through, but in being honest with yourself, and then acting on it. Sometimes that means quitting on purpose. But most of the time, it just means showing up.
The reps don’t need to be perfect. They don’t need to be big. They just need to be yours—done with intention.
Because the more you catch those moments and choose aligned effort, the more you reinforce the kind of life you want to live. You build a foundation that’s not just based on goals—but on how you show up when it’s hard, quiet, or inconvenient.
That’s how grit is built: Not by forcing the outcome, but by practicing the kind of person you want to be—one choice at a time.
Grit isn’t about never quitting. It’s about knowing what matters to you—and showing up when it counts.
Back in that freezing swim, I didn’t keep going because I felt strong. I kept going because I’d made a decision ahead of time: I go until they make me stop.
And I could make that call because I’d built that mindset through hundreds of small reps in training, choosing effort when comfort was an option.
That kind of grit doesn’t show up out of nowhere. It’s built in the quiet, daily choices you make. The moments when you pay attention and lean into the hard part—because it matters to you.
You don’t need to be perfect. Just honest.
What’s one quiet decision you’ve been putting off—that you know matters to you? Start there. Then keep going.