G.R.I.T.

G.R.I.T.

I originally had a different message planned to share with you this month, but I have recently been reminded of an experience and feel convicted to share it with you now. Hooray for everyone, as you will receive two messages this month! LOL.

Several years ago, while I was a high school principal, I became aware of a researcher named Angela Duckworth. Her work focused on the cadets of West Point Academy in an attempt to determine the best predictor of their future success. Long story short, she developed an instrument called the GRIT scale. Cadets that scored higher on the scale were more apt to go on to accomplish great things at the Academy. She presented this research on a TED Talk and even wrote a book defining GRIT, in part, as the ability to overcome obstacles and delay gratification.

As a high school principal, I found this research to be immediately valuable, and I used Duckworth’s model to develop a GRIT program for my high school students. I turned the term GRIT into an acronym for Gets Rough I’m Tough. I believe our culture often draws attention to the ways in which we are different, but the GRIT construction has a little bit for everybody. Rich or poor, race, gender, nerd or jock, etc…, one of the similarities that we share is that we will all face obstacles in life. Not all of us face the same obstacles, but I believe it is our response to those obstacles that determine our future success. The program drew attention to the variety of circumstances that people face, and highlighted their success in overcoming or currently persisting. I wanted to establish role models for facing tough life circumstances.

The program ushered in many such role models, and it is the story of the first GRIT speaker that I want to share with you.

My oldest daughter was attending Milligan College, and she was aware of the GRIT initiative that I had started. She called me one day early in September, and she asked if I knew a man named Josh Wandell. I replied that I knew he was an elementary school principal in Elizabethton and that he had been diagnosed with ALS, but that I did not know him personally. In brief, she had just heard him speak at convocation at Milligan and encouraged me to invite him to speak to my students. At this time, ALS was at its peak awareness and many people were participating in awareness initiatives, such as the ice bucket challenge, and I agreed he would be the perfect kickoff role model for my GRIT initiative.

Dr. Wandell immediately agreed to come, but stated he wasn’t available for 6 weeks with availability being his school’s fall break. I knew that was too long to wait, and I asked him if I could reach out to his superintendent. Josh said that if I could get that worked out, he was willing to come and speak.

Taking a chance, I emailed Dr. Wandell’s superintendent and asked him to give me a call. The superintendent called, and as I tried to introduce myself, he stopped me, and stated, 

“Jeff Moorhouse, I know you. My wife was your second grade teacher. She has been following your career and she instructed me that whatever you need, I have to say yes!” 

So with a little luck and pressure from my second grade teacher Mrs. Alexander, he agreed to let Dr. Wandell come to speak to my students. 

That next Friday, Dr. Wandell was scheduled to speak at 9:30. We had 1,600 students and faculty waiting in the gym. He did not arrive until 9:45. He apologized for being late and quickly shared with me the reason. He had actually been on the verge of cancelling, sharing that for the first time since his diagnosis, ALS had affected his ability to speak. He had woken up that morning and could not talk. The decision was made to go ahead and get in the truck with his colleague TJ Brown, and that if he still could not speak by the time they got to the school that we would understand. When they pulled into the parking lot, they saw the sign welcoming him and they stopped to take a picture. They paused and prayed for Josh's voice to return. He told me that his voice had just returned three minutes ago, and that his first words of the day were what he just shared with me. He said “I have a window, let’s get this done!”. 

I wish I could tell you everything Josh said. I can’t. I can tell you that he described his life before his diagnosis and then he described his life as it was currently. He explained that he needed the help of his wife to get dressed in the morning, to simply button his shirt, and to tie his necktie. I can, however, tell you that for 45 minutes 1,600 students, faculty and staff were suspended in time and you could have heard a pin drop. Here was a man that clearly understood his fate. He understood his days were numbered. His message was not, “why me?” His message was, “How do I use the platform that I have been given to have as large an impact as I can for as long as I can?” He challenged each of us to think about how to use the obstacles we face as springboards of opportunity.

Josh left that day. We texted back and forth a few times. I followed his journey on Twitter. He later developed a mantra Faith>Fear for which he will always be remembered. Josh’s battle with ALS just ended this past week, and I am writing this message, his message, in the wake of his funeral. 

I share this with you now because I believe this message was larger than 1,600 people. The message was given to me to share with 8,000 and as many more as I can. We all have obstacles in our home, job, and life which serve to keep us from reaching our potential. We often succumb to the terrible “too’s”. Too Hard, Too High, Too Low, Too Much, Too Many. It is our daily decisions to demonstrate GRIT which allows us to build bridges of opportunity and most importantly, have an Impact!

I am certain that if Josh Wandel could speak with us today and we could ask him if there was anything he could do over in the time he had left. The items on his list would not be the opportunities that he took, it would be in the opportunities he missed. I can tell you that at this point in my career, my answer would be similar. While I had my share of mistakes, I never have regretted the times I went above and beyond for a student, a colleague, or a task. I regret the missed opportunities. Impact is a result of action.

I close with a sentiment I recently saw on twitter that references a quote from Mother Teresa, “We are not called to do great things, we are called to do small things with great love.” Your smile, your touch,  and your kind words of encouragement are the things that people will remember the most. Small gestures, done often, change peoples lives. Let this be our pursuit of G.R.I.T.!