Grit

This week, I found myself drawn to two very different vessels.One carried more than one hundred souls across an unknown ocean over four centuries ago.The other carried just one woman.At Sail Boston, I stood aboard the Mayflower II and found myself resonating with the courage it took to choose the unknown over the familiar. The ship may have belonged to another century, but the journey felt remarkably familiar.Then another story found me. A news article shared the remarkable journey of a woman who had just rowed solo from California to Hawaii. Different century. Different vessel. The same willingness to venture into the unknown.Before this week, I would have described grit as perseverance.The determination to keep going when life becomes difficult.The resolve to overcome obstacles.The strength to push through adversity.Standing aboard the Mayflower II and later reading about a woman rowing across the Pacific quietly challenged that belief.They began with a choice.A choice to leave what was familiar.To step into uncertainty.To trust the journey, regardless of where it might lead.I realized grit doesn't have to be born from struggle.Sometimes it begins long before the struggle ever arrives.Sometimes grit is simply having the courage to begin.This week reminded me that becoming isn't always about enduring what life places in front of me.Sometimes it's about choosing to leave the familiar before I know what lies beyond the horizon.To trust the journey, even when the destination isn't yet clear.To believe that growth doesn't require guarantees, only the willingness to take the first step.Perhaps becoming doesn't begin when I arrive somewhere new.Perhaps it begins the moment I choose the unknown over the familiar.One step.One conversation.One opportunity.One quiet act of faith.Keep becoming. 🦋