How Being in a Grit Culture Can Motivate You
I was debating to share this on the blog or not, but I thought, “hey, one of the main goals I want my blog to be is a source of inspiration, so why not share this, especially if you’ve never heard of “grit”!” I came about the book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, in one of my current classes at The University of Nevada, Reno. This class has changed my outlook on life, work, and everything in between. I love classes that offer so much value to not only your career but your personal life. As I started reading Grit, I realized I grew up in this environment because of my parents.
My parents have so much grit because they never gave up on their dreams, despite having practically no education from Mexico, or having only spoken Spanish majority of their life. My Dad became a US citizen, and even learned to speak English with only having gone to 6th grade in Mexico. That just blows my mind, like how? Now after reading Grit, I realize it’s because he’s had grit this whole time. He’s very other centric, and thinks about the well-being of others and not himself. If you followed me for a while you know that my Dad means a lot to me, but so does my ENTIRE family. I couldn’t begin to explain to you how much every single one of them truly possess grit.
That goes into my next topic as to why being a part of a grit culture is so important. So if you haven’t read the book, or have no idea what grit is, you can check out my video down below for a brief story on what grit has been like in my life, or watch this TedEx talk. Okay, so now that we are all on the same page, let’s talk about grit culture. I take grit culture as a support system. If you surround yourself with gritty people, likelihood is you’ll start to become gritty yourself.
I have seen this occur within my own grit culture, not just from my family, but from my friends. Compared to my old high school days, my friends have come and gone, I have met new people and I no longer have relationships with some people. What I can tell you is that my outlook on friendship has completely changed. The amount of grit that my grit culture of friends possess is ridiculous. One of my best friends was not accepted from UNR’s Nursing Program multiple times. Did that stop her from pursing her dream? Nope! She applied to another school and come December she will finally be an RN. She may have faced one of the hardest adversities not once but multiple times but that didn’t stop her hope. This motivates me to keep trying regardless of the amount of times I fail, but it also motivates our other friends. It’s like a domino effect.
Being a part of a Grit culture can keep you on your toes and provide you support to keep on trying. Sure, you will be disappointed but you will continue to strive to accomplish your goals. I recommend surrounding yourselves with Gritty people, and people who care about your well-being. Every time one of my friends accomplishes something we turn to each other for the support. How do I do this? Or guess what girls, I accomplished this!
If you don’t surround yourself with people with a growth mindset, you’ll start to think you can’t accomplish something and doubt yourself. You will lose your hope, but don’t be like that. Be gritty and know that you truly can accomplish your goals by having grit.
Please check out my video below as I share with you my grit story. You can subscribe to my channel for future posts.
Rustic Orange Bomber Jacket
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I am a huge fan of bomber jackets, and would love to have one in every color, but that would just take over my closet. I recently purchased my espadrille wedges and shared them with you on an earlier post, here. They are ridiculously comfortable, I am not even exaggerating. I know heels can really hurt your feet, but wedges are a better option because they have more support. I walked in these espadrilles all day and was not complaining, for once. I can walk in heels, but of course after 8 hours I will eventually complain.
I picked up my bomber jacket from OOTDFash and used my discount code: PATTYG15 for 15% off. Who doesn’t love discounts, right? OOTDFash has a ton of cute trendy pieces and I will try to do a wish list post for them next week on the blog. So stay tuned for that because I have a ton of cute pieces I want to purchase.
I have been wanting to share some spring looks but the weather in Reno has been acting a little out of the ordinary. It snowed, rained, and the sun came out, all in one day. I was a little shocked because I was not wearing the appropriate outfit for snow. I should know by now from living in Reno for the past few years. I am hoping it will start getting a little warmer so I can share more pieces!
Lastly, don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel, I recently uploaded a new vlog. You can view the video below, or you can check out my channel, here.
How to Avoid Excuses for Working Out
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There always comes a day when you really don’t want to go to the gym or workout in general. I am sure (well hopefully) I’m not the only one who feels like this sometimes. It can be a little discouraging to go to the gym on days where nothing is going right, or you’re tired, or even too sore. I wanted to gather some helpful tips to avoid these excuses and still get to the gym by the end of the day.
Tip#1
Go to the gym in the morning
I always feel like this is the most practical thing to do for those that always end up coming home from work and sitting on the couch saying, “I don’t want to go the gym today.” Well if you go to the gym in the morning you likely won’t have this feeling in the afternoon, because guess what? You already took care of it in the morning. For others, going to the gym in the morning can be really hard, but don’t forget even a quick 30 minute workout can make all the difference!
Tip #2
Purchase a gym membership close to your home
This was one of the main reasons why I wouldn’t be able to make it to the gym last year. My boyfriend and I decided to get a gym membership at a lower price, but the gym was around 20-30 minutes from our house (traffic). This was not a very brilliant idea of ours. We ended up cancelling our gym membership and instead, I purchased one about 5 minutes from our house. It is very convenient because if I go in the morning, I can still go home and get ready before work. If I decided to go to the gym in the afternoon, I can stop by before I go home. Regardless, this avoids my excuse of “the gym is too far.”
Tip #3
Workout at home
There have been times when I didn’t want to wake up so early to go to the gym and I said I would pass by on my way home…and I don’t. There will be those days when you just “don’t want to go to the gym” and what I find best is doing a full-body-45 minute-cardio session at home. Let me stop you before you think of the excuse, “I don’t know what workouts to do at home.” I have you covered, and the easiest way for me to help you is suggesting you download these two apps, PumpUp and Sworkit. They offer some great cardio workouts. You can also just take a 5 mile run around your area and finish with some abs, lunges, and squats.
Tip #4
Follow fitness influencers
Occasionally, I have heard that some people don’t want to go to the gym because they don’t know what workouts to do. Most gyms do offer some type of “free training” or they have trainers. If you are barely starting and have no idea how to properly lift or use the machines, I highly suggest you have someone train you or show you. The reason being is that if you follow your favorite fitness influencer and try to do the same workout, without knowing “how” to do it, you could hurt yourself. Now, if you know how to use the machines and do proper lifting, then I do suggest you follow some fitness influencers on social media. They offer some amazing workouts. You could also download the two apps I mentioned in Tip #3. Most of these influencers provide videos or have a YouTube channel that you can follow for workouts as well. This will help you avoid the excuse of not knowing what workout to do.
I hope you don’t get stuck in the “excuses” phase and go out there and get fit! I do want to mention that the more you do something the more it becomes a part of your lifestyle. The gym is the same exact way. Now that I have stayed consistently, I find myself not making as much excuses anymore. I try to really make this a routine and a “part of me” (if that makes sense). You will never realize your true potential if you don’t get started!
Please leave a comment down below some of your tips for avoiding excuses to work out.
Daytime & Nighttime Outfit
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Booties | similar // Denim Jacket // Dress | similar // Bag | similar // Flats
Working full-time and trying to balance a life outside of work can be a bit hectic. One of the things I have learned to make it easier for me is choosing the appropriate outfit. You’re probably wondering, what does choosing an outfit have to do with making your life less hectic? Do you ever have those days where you have to go to a dinner after work or look presentable, but not so professional? That is where choosing the right outfit comes into play.
I purchased this green dress from Nordstrom Rack about a month ago. I feel like it is appropriate for work if you wear tights/leggings underneath, like I did. It would also look great with a pair of heels. I like staying comfy when I go to work so I opted out. I sometimes plan things with my girlfriends after work or with my boyfriend, but I don’t want to change my outfit completely. It can be a hassle.. trust me!
What I ended up doing with this outfit is taking off my leggings/tights and instead putting on my denim jacket from OOTDFash and pairing it with some cute booties. I love these booties that my boyfriend gave me as gift, he knows my style! Now, I am able to go out without looking so professional or like I just got off work.
If you don’t follow me on Instagram, then you probably hadn’t noticed that I have a discount code with OOTDFash. If you like my jacket, go ahead and check it out here and use my discount code: PATTYG15 at check out for 15% off.
Please follow me on Instagram, so you don’t miss out on my daily posts!
Daytime & Nighttime Outfit
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Booties | similar // Denim Jacket // Dress | similar // Bag | similar // Flats
Working full-time and trying to balance a life outside of work can be a bit hectic. One of the things I have learned to make it easier for me is choosing the appropriate outfit. You’re probably wondering, what does choosing an outfit have to do with making your life less hectic? Do you ever have those days where you have to go to a dinner after work or look presentable, but not so professional? That is where choosing the right outfit comes into play.
I purchased this green dress from Nordstrom Rack about a month ago. I feel like it is appropriate for work if you wear tights/leggings underneath, like I did. It would also look great with a pair of heels. I like staying comfy when I go to work so I opted out. I sometimes plan things with my girlfriends after work or with my boyfriend, but I don’t want to change my outfit completely. It can be a hassle.. trust me!
What I ended up doing with this outfit is taking off my leggings/tights and instead putting on my denim jacket from OOTDFash and pairing it with some cute booties. I love these booties that my boyfriend gave me as gift, he knows my style! Now, I am able to go out without looking so professional or like I just got off work.
If you don’t follow me on Instagram, then you probably hadn’t noticed that I have a discount code with OOTDFash. If you like my jacket, go ahead and check it out here and use my discount code: PATTYG15 at check out for 15% off.
Please follow me on Instagram, so you don’t miss out on my daily posts!
