Before the World Can Heal, We Have to Get Honest

Everywhere I go lately, people look exhausted. Not just tired, but emotionally drained. You can feel it in the grocery store, in traffic, even scrolling through social media.

The headlines don’t tell us we’re fine. The world is filled with fear, anger, division, and noise. But here’s the strange part. While Wall Street celebrates record highs, most people I know are just trying to hang on.

We’re told the economy is “strong,” but it doesn’t feel strong when you’re standing at the checkout line watching your total climb higher than your paycheck can stretch. It doesn’t feel strong when someone you love loses their job, or when you’re lying awake at night wondering how to keep up.

That disconnect between what we’re told and what we feel reminds me of my own life before I found GRIT.

Growth: Getting Honest with Yourself

For me, growth didn’t begin when things were going well. It began the day I got brutally honest with myself.

For years, I told myself everything was fine. I worked hard, smiled through pain, and stayed busy enough to avoid the truth that something inside me was broken.

I didn’t want to face it, so I kept moving, kept numbing, kept pretending until I couldn’t anymore. Life will keep turning up the volume until you listen.

And that’s what I see happening right now. We’ve built a world that looks successful on the outside but is quietly falling apart on the inside. Families are stretched, people are burned out, and too many of us are pretending that “busy” means “okay.”

Real growth starts when we stop pretending. You don’t have to hit rock bottom to have a breakthrough. You just have to be willing to get real about what’s not working.

Resilience: Standing Back Up

Resilience isn’t about bouncing back quickly or pretending you’re okay. It’s about standing back up when you’d rather stay down.

I see it every day. Parents working two jobs. Small business owners fighting to stay open. People starting over after layoffs or heartbreak.

Resilience is quiet. It’s not glamorous. But it’s what keeps us moving when life feels heavy.

Sometimes resilience just looks like showing up one more day, even when your heart’s tired.

Integrity: When Words Match Actions

When I was at my lowest, my words and actions didn’t match. I said I wanted to change, but I didn’t. I said I cared about people, but I was too lost in my pain to show up for them.

Integrity started the moment I decided my actions were going to start lining up with my words.

That’s where I think we are as a country too. We say we care about community, family, and fairness, but our actions don’t always reflect that.

Integrity is when what we say and what we do finally match. It’s not perfection. It’s progress.

Tenacity: Refusing to Quit

Tenacity is that quiet strength that says, “Not today. I’m not quitting.”

It’s the mom holding her family together through exhaustion. It’s the man starting over at 55 after losing his job. It’s every person trying again even when no one’s clapping for them.

Tenacity doesn’t mean you’re never scared. It means you keep moving anyway.

You Don’t Have to Hit Rock Bottom to Rebuild

When I hit rock bottom, I thought my life was over. But it was actually the start of something real.

You don’t have to lose everything to rebuild. You can start right where you are, whether you’re trying to find peace in a chaotic world, rebuilding after loss, or just feeling stuck.

GRIT isn’t only for the broken. It’s for the becoming.

Growth, resilience, integrity, and tenacity aren’t just words. They’re the tools that help us take our power back when life feels out of control.

No matter how far you’ve fallen, or how stuck you feel, you can rise again through GRIT. I’m living proof of that.

If you’re feeling stuck, I’d love to walk with you through it. My 5-Day GRIT Jumpstart is a simple way to begin reconnecting with yourself—one honest question at a time. It’s not about fixing your whole life. It’s about taking your first step toward change.

You can start today at UnshakableGRIT.com.

Written by Jodi K. Lanning
Author of Unshakable: How I Rebuilt My Life One GRIT-Fueled Day at a Time
Founder of Unshakable GRIT