The Surprising Side of Watching Grit

FROM THE EDITOR

From the big screen to real life

Have you ever walked out of a movie feeling oddly energized, or motivated, like you can take on the world? It’s funny how that happens after watching a story built on resilience and perseverance. I remember feeling like that several times, and I know I’m not alone, I’ve overheard it in conversations, and watched it play out on the news and TV. People all over the world leave those movies feeling that same energy and motvation, even when the heroes don’t win at the end! Think about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It is not about destiny or invincible heroes. We see regular people keep going forward regardless of the threat to themselves, they know that the bigger picture is what’s important. Watching that kind of resilience does truly affect us.

But what happens when that same dynamic shows up in real life, especially at work? When we watch coworkers push through adversity, does it help us become more resilient ourselves, or does it sometimes create pressure we don’t talk about? I read something that got me thinking how observing resilience shapes how we feel, how we handle stress, and how we show up when work gets hard.

Google Gemini made this!

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By now you know that skills are accumulated by the work you do, the hobbies you enjoy, and through the life you live. Every one of those experiences teaches you something, if you let it.

Reading Between the Rails…

Inspiration and pressure can come from the same moment.
Watching someone push through adversity can motivate us, but it can also raise quiet questions about whether we could handle the same situation ourselves.
How similar we feel to the person matters.
Resilience feels empowering when we see ourselves in the story. When we do not, it can create stress instead of motivation.
Resilience is not always contagious in the way we expect.
Observing grit can strengthen how we handle stress, but it can also reshape how we think about stress in ways that are not always helpful.

The Line Ahead

Watching Resilience at Work: Motivation or Pressure?

I want to step away from the AI discussions we have had recently. Instead I want to talk about resilience, what does it mean and does watching someone show resilience help us become better able to handle tough times.

Resilience has become one of the most admired traits in the workplace. It’s so much more than just sucking it up and toughing through adversity. There is a sense of accomplishment and strengthening that happens which enables us to handle stress and rough times when they happen. We notice it when someone keeps moving forward during a tough stretch, adapts to change without falling apart, or shows up consistently when things are not easy. But does watching someone work through adversity change how we think about stress and remind us that challenges are survivable and growth is possible?

When people observe resilience in others, there is a social comparison that follows. If the person pushing through feels similar in role, experience, or situation, the comparison can be motivating. It feels attainable then you think, “If they handled that, maybe I could too.” That sense of connection helps resilience feel learned rather than imposed. When that similarity is missing, however, people may feel pressure and then the question changes from “How did they do that?” to “What happens if I can’t?” In those moments, resilience stops feeling encouraging and starts feeling like an expectation which can amplify feelings of stress.

This matters because workplaces are very good at showcasing outcomes and far less consistent about acknowledging the conditions that made those outcomes possible. We tend to highlight endurance while skipping over the support, flexibility, or resources that helped someone persist. Over time, that can create a culture where resilience is interpreted as absorbing stress without complaint, rather than adapting with support.

Resilience is not a fixed trait that people either possess or lack. It develops through experience, access to support, and room to struggle without penalty. Observing others can strengthen it, but only when people believe they are allowed to approach challenges in ways that fit their own capacity and circumstances.

The goal is not to stop sharing resilience stories. It is to tell them more honestly. When we include how people were supported, not just how they performed, those stories are more likely to motivate rather than burden others. Resilience grows best when it feels shared, not measured.