Finding the Tikvah in Grit
Angela Duckworth claims to have found the formula for success in her book Grit:
“talent x effort = skill
skill x effort = achievement” (Duckworth, 2016).
Grit is the combination between passion and perseverance. In this post you will learn how grit applies to Tikvah for Parkinson, and how you can grow grit in your own life to accomplish your goals. In the “paragons of Grit” interviewed by Duckworth, grit develops in a particular order:
First comes interest. Passion is connected to enjoying what you do, even if some aspects of your work are less attractive than others. The people who work for Tikvah for Parkinson have an interest in helping other people. Debbie Shapiro herself began the organization because she felt passionate about offering alternatives and a holistic service for the people with Parkinson in Jerusalem, with an emphasis in the Orthodox community.
Participants of Tikvah for Parkinson first show interest in coming to the organization because they are passionate about getting better and increasingly healthier. A way to sustain their interest is to find an activity they enjoy the most. For instance, out the people I have spoken to Elliot enjoys singing, Debbie enjoys boxing and Bruce enjoys movement classes.
You can practice passion in your own life by trying different activities and sticking to the ones you have the most interest in, despite of your talent. Similar to grit, talent grows with effort to become a skill.
After interest comes practice. Discipline in applying yourself to a task once you have grown interest in it ––day after day despite setbacks–– grows perseverance. With practice your interest can grow into a skill and, that way, you can develop mastery. After Debbie came up with the idea for Tikvah for Parkinson, she had to consistently try ways to gain participants, find donors, experiment with programs and find teachers. The Covid-19 pandemic came as an important setback but adapting to online classes allowed the Tikvah for Parkinson team to keep offering a holistic service.
Similarly, Tikvah for Parkinson participants show up consistently to the classes, several times a week. They exercise, eat clean, go to therapy, participate in support groups, visit the doctor, attend dancing classes and generally practice all the conceivable ways to improve and become healthier. Hence you can apply practice to your own life by being disciplined and committing wholeheartedly to your activities of choice.
Once you have established practice comes purpose. The idea that your work matters and can improve the life of others is essential to sustain interest and to ripen passion. Debbie Shapiro and the Tikvah for Parkinson team share the believe that classes, a healthy lifestyle and a community are essential to quenching the neurodegenerative process associated with Parkinson’s disease. We have purpose because we believe that Tikvah for Parkinson’s work is essential in improving the life of other people.
Participants in Tikvah for Parkinson can also find purpose in improving and getting healthier, by being able to help their friends and family and other people from the community. It is almost impossible to help other people before first helping yourself. You can find purpose in your own life by asking yourself what motivates you, how can you improve, and how can you help other people.
Lastly, the step that defines every stage in developing grit is hope, a “rising to the occasion kind of perseverance” (Duckworth, 2016). Hope defines every stage of grit because every time we encounter a setback we have to learn to keep going, not to fall into doubts but to rise up to the occasion. Hope defines Tikvah for Parkinson from the name itself: Tikvah in Hebrew means hope. The people from Tikvah for Parkinson are resilient and every of their actions are driven by hope, from their interest in the activities from the wellness program, to their will to practice, and their willingness to help other people.
You can apply hope to your own life by being mindful and grateful of your process, and by remembering that every setback is just a challenge to overcome in your journey to improve and become the best version of yourself.
I hope this helps you achieve all of your goals.
Until next time,
Jenni.
Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. New York, United States: Scriber.
My dad was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease at 57.his symptoms were shuffling of feet,slurred speech, low volume speech, degradation of hand writing, horrible driving skills, right arm held at 45 degree angle, but now he finally free from the disease with the help of total cure from ULTIMATE LIFE CLINIC, he now walks properly and all symptoms has reversed, he had trouble with balance especially at night, getting into the shower and exiting it is difficult,getting into bed is also another thing he finds impossible.we had to find a better solution for his condition which has really helped him a lot,the biggest helped we had was ultimate life clinic they walked us through the proper steps,am highly recommended this www.ultimatelifeclinic.com to anyone who needs help.
ReplyDeleteMy husband was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease at 67. His symptoms were shuffling of feet, slurred speech, low volume speech, degradation of handwriting, horrible driving skills, and his right arm is held at 45 degree angle. He was placed on Sinemet for 7 months and then Sifrol and rotigotine were introduced which replaced the Sinemet but he had to stop due to side effects. We tried every shot available but nothing was working. There has been little if any progress in finding a reliable treatment, I quit my meds due to side effects. Our care provider introduced us to Kycuyu Health Clinic Parkinson’s herbal treatment. The treatment is a miracle. My husband has recovered significantly! Visit www. kycuyuhealthclinic. co m
ReplyDelete