Shared Wisdom Guest Post
Featuring Katie Tallo from Momentum Gathering

The truest wisdom is a resolute determination.
– Napoleon Bonaparte

I’ve decided something. I am no longer going to worry about changing. There’s been this small, petty, fearful voice in my head this past year that’s been needling away at me, belittling my efforts and reminding me over and over that I will never change. It’s a voice fueled by my deepest fears and doubts about myself and my long-held-on-to insecurities and shames.

But there comes a time when fear, nastiness and worry must be told to go and sit in the corner and be quiet. There comes a time when something else must rise up and stand in their place so that healthy, heartfelt, lovely change can come about. That something else goes by the name of grit.

Grit is an Indomitable Spirit.

Grit is resolute determination, fierce will, unwavering pluck. And grit – more powerful than fear and worry – is deep inside each of us. But how do we access it?

It’s not easy. Maybe you’ve reached that place in your life where you’ve had enough – enough of trying to get your body back, trying to get noticed for all your hard work, trying to squeeze a little you-time into your schedule, or trying to stick to something … anything. Grit doesn’t live in this place — a bully does.

So hush that bully who says your body needs to go back in time, your worth needs recognizing by someone other than you, your time is not your rightful possession or you’re a failure if you stop and start. Silence that mean mindset with sheer grit.

I believe grit is rooted in your ability to embrace and accept exactly who you are, right here and right now, and then to move forward very powerfully and mindfully from that place of inner loveliness. That is loving and that is the only way to have true grit.

True Grit is Horse-Power from the Soul.

Your inner loveliness does not need to be bullied or demeaned any longer. Hush those voices that tell you it’s too late, that you’re not good, strong, talented, pretty, thin, out-going, young or old enough. Shut them down. Give them the finger. Do whatever you’ve got to do, but don’t let them dominate the air waves any longer. Tell them in no uncertain terms that they are no longer needed. Let grit be your new song!

Grit is a Very Special Kind of Momentum.

It comes from inside. It’s not some universal force that’s somewhere out there or some higher power that guides you – it is your power. It lives and breathes inside you. You have your very own storehouse of grit.

Know it, Feel it, Say it … “I Have Grit.”

Repeat the words to yourself when you set off to move through your day, make a change, create a new habit or take on a new challenge in your life. Don’t worry about perfection or success, simply move forward with grit. You will astound yourself once you begin to feel it surging through you and pushing you in your intended direction.

Grit is your inner wisdom, embracing all that you are and then making a firm decision to dig in and fight for yourself and what you truly want. It is you gripping life. It is you seizing your highest potential. It is action ignited from a deep and loving place.

When I run I feel it lengthening my stride, picking up my pace, and pushing me a little harder than I pushed yesterday. When I write it compels me to let go of finding the right words and instead, to feel them, attack them, play with them. When I love it encourages me to not let any moment slip by where a hug or a kind word could have made a difference. And when I create, collaborate and do my work it drives me to do my best for others and for myself.

Today, I will not worry about changing. Instead, I will embrace the beauty of the change that I’m capable of, and then I will grit my teeth, furrow my brow and dig in … because today, I have grit in my corner. Do you have grit?

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About Katie (in her own poetic words):

I am many things. I’m a mother, wife, writer, director, artist, fitness lover, vegetarian, motivator and momentum gatherer. Some of my writing is raunchy, some is sweet. Some of my films are gritty, some are gentle. I am not one thing, one kind of writer, one kind of filmmaker, parent or friend. I am human, flexible, imperfect, ambiguous, restless and, I am free to become whatever I want to be. I am growing and learning, and I hope I always will be. My mission is to seek out simple, soulful ways to live, eat, move, create and flow with life.

To learn more about Katie, please go to Momentum Gathering – you’ll definitely want to spend some time there taking in and sitting with her beautiful words. She is also the creator of the 7-Week Life Cleanse and the co-creator of The Habit Course – each are brilliant and definitely worth checking out!

It’s truly an honor to feature your wisdom here, Katie. Thank you for coming into my world at exactly the right moment. Thank you for allowing each of us to take in your beautiful, strong words, sit with them, process them, and apply them to our own lives. You are truly a gift, and I feel blessed to be on this journey with you.