In the latest edition of my, "I am" journal affirmation collection for girls, I wanted to focus on providing them with tools for both recognizing and celebrating their own success stories. Societal criteria for success, particularly for girls, has lagged behind the times for too long and has often been a source for the sharpest blows to self esteem.

I wanted our new generation of girls to begin to forge their own definitions of success, through practical study and contemplation. I wanted every girl to be able to see the truth of her own successes and to not be confined by outer definitions of what it means to be successful.

One particular affirmation addresses the very real challenge for girls who are not endowed with the "gifted" label. What do we tell the girls who are not told they are gifted? The girls who are not given access to special attention, focus and educational opportunity? I believe we tell them that there are other gifts and that among the most powerful of these is the gift of grit.

Gifted With Grit

We hear the term gifted
And we equate it with guaranteed success
Because the gifted individual
Has the advantage
Of some special intelligence
They’re ahead of the game
But I am among the luckiest of girls
For I am gifted with grit
I am gifted with the resolve
To never give up
No matter how long it takes me
To get where I want to go
I am gifted with tenacity
When you tell me I am not capable
You’ll witness me prove you wrong
I am gifted with courage to forge ahead
Even when I am certain to fail
Several times before I succeed
The gift of grit is perhaps more powerful
Than any other gifted advantage
And why is that so?
Because a person with grit
Makes up for any weakness
By the sheer resolve of will
And a person who refuses to give up
Though challenged in the most monumental ways
Can overcome any obstacle
I refuse to be limited by any label
That describes me as anything but gifted
Because I most certainly am gifted
Gifted with grit


I am Successful: Journal Affirmations for Girls