Look at the faces of our elders. Think of the uncle who started with a small corner shop, working sunrise to sunset. Think of the aunty who raised five children in a new country, never losing her smile or her faith. They didn’t have fancy business books or life coaches. So, what was their secret?
They had something special, a quality deep in their bones. Today, academics have given it a name: Grit. But for our community, it is a timeless virtue, a mix of patience (sabr) and determined effort that our faith has always taught us.
A new paper by researcher Angela Duckworth shines a light on this powerful idea, and it is a lesson our community needs now more than ever.
So, what is this “grit”?
It is not about being stubborn for no reason. It is not about banging your head against a wall when a door is closed. Grit is something smarter.
Imagine you are trying to build a beautiful garden to feed your family and neighbours. That is your big, important goal. One day, you find that the soil is bad in one corner. A person without grit might give up on the whole garden.
But a person with grit is fixed on the high-level goal (the beautiful garden) but flexible on the small steps. He/She will say, “Okay, no problem. I will bring new soil here, or maybe I will plant something different in this spot.”
They find a way. They are stubborn about the big dream, but not stupid about the small daily tasks.
This is how our elders built their lives here. Their big goal was “give my children a better future.” The small steps changed every day a failed business, a language barrier, a tough landlord.
They did not give up on the big goal; they just found a new way to take the next small step. They knew life is a marathon, not a quick sprint.
The power of ‘why?’
The most important lesson from the research is that gritty people always know why they are doing something. For us, this is the foundation of our faith: our niyyah, or intention.
Why does a student study until 2 am for a medical exam? Not just to pass, but because her ‘why’ is to serve the sick and earn Allah’s pleasure.
Why does a father work two jobs? Because his ‘why’ is to provide for his family with halal income.
This purpose gives you fuel when you are tired.
The research found that the grittiest people are those who want to live a “meaningful, other-centred life”. They are motivated by helping others.
Does this sound familiar? It is the core of our duty as Muslims: to be a benefit to humanity.
How we Can all grow our grit
The good news is that grit is not something you are born with. It is a skill we can all learn, a muscle we can all build. The research gives us a simple roadmap:
1. Find Your Passionate Purpose: You must care about what you are doing. As Jeff Bezos says, if you’re not passionate, you won’t be able to stick with it. Find something that interests you and serves a higher purpose. Even if some days are boring, you will keep going because you love the overall mission.
2. Practice with Patience (Sabr): This is the heart of grit. It is about waking up every day and trying to be a little better than you were yesterday. Duckworth says, “You must zero in on your weaknesses… over and over again”. It means resisting the temptation to be lazy or satisfied with ‘good enough’. Whether you are a chef, a mechanic, or a teacher, the desire to improve is what separates the great from the average. Remember, effort is so important it counts twice: your talent combined with effort creates your skill, and your skill combined with more effort leads to achievement.
3. Have Hope and Trust (Tawakkul): Grit is built on hope. Not a blind hope, but the solid belief that your own efforts can make your future better. Our faith teaches this perfectly. We must tie our camel, and then put our trust in Allah. Modern science even shows that our brains can keep growing and changing our whole lives, based on our experiences. Your skills are not set in stone. Just think of a time you learned something that seemed impossible at first like driving a car or learning a new software program. You did it with effort.
In today’s world of instant distraction and easy quitting, teaching our children and ourselves the power of grit is an act of empowerment.
It is about finishing what we start. It is the spirit that built our mosques, our schools, and our communities.
It is the legacy of our elders, and it is the key to our future.
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