Grit in psychology is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual’s perseverance of effort combined with the passion for a particular long-term goal or end state (a powerful motivation to achieve an objective).
HOW DO WE USE GRIT?
In off highway vehicle maintenance and auto electrical repair in particular, a certain amount of grit itinerantly comes with the job and not just the dirt and grease kind. There are many difficult tasks that require undesirable actions to complete them.
The end goal is obviously the piece of equipment working to its best availability possible. This is very challenging to keep equipment running and to repair equipment failures without undergoing difficult tasks.
It some times involves crawling into places on the equipment that is covered in black-used-stinky-grease, or the lifting of heavy objects into tight places. These repairs can go on for hours on end and more common than not its one bolt that won’t line up, the one bolt that has to go back in. The one that you have been trying to start for the last 45mins while holding a 50kg pump, and jammed in to a tiny crevice when inevitable happens. The bolt drops into an infinite black hole never to be found again. You’re forced to remove everything and start again. And the process starts again but you do things a little different. And again and again until everything is installed as it should.
Compounded by the stress of the work environmental factors like, with mining equipment in particular – downtime cost. If you consider the dirt the machine could move and the value to the company, it becomes overwhelming in some cases costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Which add to the difficult task, but stress inoculation is another topic.
There is a common saying in amongst maintenance personnel in regards to engineering and equipment designs with the thought that “when they were designing it was never planed to be pulled apart”. This notion if true would be a reasons we need Grit. To get the job done sometimes we need to be resourceful, creative, and other times it’s just hard work and perseverance.
The modern idea of eliminating all these difficult tasks is in many cases an unrealistic one should be continually sort after. This assists us with the development of modern tools that make our jobs easier and safer. But like the old proverb says, “there are many ways to skin a cat” so there is to completing our work.
We should always consider the safety side of our work and not let the clear line of unsafe and safe work practices get confused with Grit. They are and always will be two very different things.
Grit is a skill, it can be avoided or it can be learned. Use it, to become better at what you do or avoid it and risk becoming soft and unconditioned. Our work is challenging that’s for sure, but it can also provide very rewarding life. Nothing worth having is ever easy and everything easy is not worth having. So persevere, build your grit and be the best you!
Here is what Director – Joshua Doutch has to say about GRIT Click Here