What dictionaries say
There is no interpretation of this expression in Dahl's dictionary, but there is a reference to it in the explanation of the concept of “squeeze.” The author of the dictionary believes that you can grit your teeth in anger. Ozhegov’s dictionary also gives an example with the word “squeeze”, explaining the expression as “keep silent, endure.”
The synonym dictionary defines the expression as “to force oneself to restrain oneself.” The phraseological dictionary adds that in literary language this expression is considered colloquial and expresses expression. A person can use it while holding back feelings of protest.
The dictionary of many expressions interprets it as “show restraint.” Michelson's dictionary considers the expression allegorical, used in cases of describing anger or rage.
What other languages have this expression?
We find similar expressions in German and English. In German, the expression die Zähne beißen literally translates as “to bite your teeth.” It is used by E.M. Remarque. Germans can also say: Ich biß die Zähne zusammen. This literally means “I bit my teeth together.”
The English language also has this phraseological unit. J. Rolling, for example, in the series of books about Harry Potter uses the expression to gritted his teeth (“to gritted his teeth”) like this: Harry gritted his teeth and nodded (“Harry gritted his teeth and nodded”).
But there is an even more ancient expression: Bite a bullet, which literally translates as “bite a bullet.” Interestingly, this idiom was first a literal description of a procedure used in place of anesthesia. The fact is that in the 1700s, during emergency surgery on the battlefield, soldiers were given a bullet in their mouth to distract them from the pain. The man did not scream so much and was distracted: in order not to swallow the bullet, it was necessary to control its position in the mouth.
Over time, the expression “bite the bullet” has become allegorical and now means “doing something unpleasant, uncomfortable.” This could be making a difficult decision, driving an old car, passing an unpopular law for the sake of future benefits.
In French there is the same expression (mordre la balle), literally meaning “to bite the ball.” In Italian there is stringere i denti, which translates to “tighten your teeth.”
Problems that can result from bruxism
In addition to increased enamel abrasion, there are other “daytime” consequences of bruxism. Although, at first glance, you wouldn’t guess that they are associated with night creaking.
- Dull headache starting in the temples
- Pain in the ear, the cause of which cannot be discovered by an otolaryngologist
- Trigeminal neuralgia (sudden shooting pain in the face)
- Sleep disturbance (waking up in the middle of the night)
- Constant thirst and dry mouth
Bruxism is also closely linked to increased anxiety and depression. Perhaps the habit of grinding your teeth develops precisely against the background of mental problems and constant anxiety. But the opposite is also possible: bruxism, with its unpleasant side effects in the form of damaged teeth, headaches and insomnia, will drive anyone to despair.
Therefore, the best thing you can do for yourself while doctors are looking for the cause of your pain is to straighten your back and proudly raise your head (your tongue will take the right position on its own). And, shamelessly opening his mouth, say: “No, Semyon Semyonich, I will no longer take overtime work.” And now let Semyonich grind his teeth himself!
Photo: @stormibree
The nature of phraseological units
When a patient comes to a doctor’s appointment and says: “I clench my teeth hard,” this indicates a certain symptom. In medicine, the following clenching of the jaws is distinguished:
- As a reaction to an event (anger, fear, physical stress).
- Involuntary grinding of teeth (bursism).
Apparently, observing people’s behavior in various situations gave rise to this expression. Interestingly, the Holy Scriptures mention “weeping and gnashing of teeth” as people’s reactions to punishment.
The life of modern people is characterized by a fast rhythm, heavy workload, all kinds of problems and stress. New diseases have appeared, caused by the body functioning at the limit of its capabilities. One of them is bursism. This is an unconscious strong clenching of the jaws, often during sleep, leading to pathology of the oral cavity and masticatory apparatus. Doctors unanimously name the reason - the inability to relax and rest, and cope with negative emotions.
“This way we can understand ourselves more”
Social relaxation is a very important part of Finnish culture. Now, in addition to sisu, another Finnish concept is gaining popularity outside of Finland - “kalsarikännit”, which means “drinking at home in your underwear.” The goal of kalsarikännit is not to get drunk, it’s not that sad.
The goal is to give yourself permission to relax “without tinsel.” Without dressing to the nines, without leaving home - just enjoy the moment.
Sisu is now being studied by psychologists; one of the most famous sisu researchers is Emilia Lahti, who works at Aalto University in Helsinki. She views sisu from a positive psychology perspective as a form of self-help. But this phenomenon can certainly be considered from the other side, for example, from the point of view of anthropology. I think this is great - this way we can understand ourselves more.
When a person wants to grit his teeth
Under heavy loads, the jaw compression mechanism operates in the body. In this case, the tension is concentrated in the masticatory muscle. It increases in volume if a person is in danger and is the strongest. The average person develops a force of up to 72 kg; the Guinness Book record is about 400 kg.
Athletes are well aware of this phenomenon. They learn to relax the masticatory muscle during periods of heavy physical activity. This frees up the spine and directs energy in the right direction. This action requires enormous concentration. People who are not involved in sports are not recommended to imitate athletes, as this makes it difficult to evacuate stress. This can lead to stomach ulcers. Sedatives that lead to muscle relaxation, sagging of the lower jaw, and block the release of tension. This prevents the body from overcoming stress.
As you can see, gritting your teeth in certain situations is normal. This is, for example, what players do in tug-of-war.
In what cases is this expression used?
There are several life situations when it would be appropriate to use the idiom “grit your teeth”:
- When you need to endure something: physical or emotional pain, an unpleasant neighborhood or period of time. When for the sake of the future good you need to endure the hardships of the present day.
- When you need to restrain your temper so as not to say too much.
- When you have to do unpleasant or dangerous work.
- When you need to show courage.
All of these situations fit the meaning of “gritting your teeth.” But there are cases when this is no longer a figurative phrase, but a direct threat to health. A facial expression with clenched teeth is a sign of severe pain. Often these are heart problems. In such cases, emergency medical attention is required.
Flexibility and gritted teeth: six factors for a successful business
Over the years of working at McKinsey, and later in my own business, I have identified six factors that help me personally be more successful.
Factor 1. Passion
As Steve Jobs said, “The only way to do great work is to love it.” Of course, with an effort of will you can force yourself to do the work you don’t like, but it’s not worth it.
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I was a bad McKinsey consultant: when a project was interesting to me, I could work 15–18 hours a day for weeks. Everything worked out for me; clients, team leaders and partners gave me good feedback. But if the project was not interesting to me, everything “fell out of hand”: constant fatigue, problems with the client, not the most flattering assessments from the partner and team lead. Of course, I tried by force of will to force myself to “love” an uninteresting project, but this required enormous effort and did not always work out. My level of involvement greatly depended on how interested I was in the topic and task of the project, because I never liked the consulting process itself. I liked creating things myself rather than creating solutions for others.
According to my observations, people who became successful in consulting were those who enjoyed the process, regardless of the subject of the problem being solved. There were, of course, employees with iron willpower who showed high levels of engagement even when they were not interested at all. But such people usually did not reach the level of partners. “Pumping up” willpower without love is like loading a muscle and not eating, you can strain yourself.
I realized quite early that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, I wanted to create new businesses based on breakthrough technologies. You can also create your own business without passion, on the basis of calculation, but your own business is complex, constant, sometimes monotonous work (day and night). If “the eye doesn’t light up,” it’s better to just not take it on. In this industry, passion is an advantage. I often came across fly-by-night companies on the tourism market that opened on the principle: “If you have free money, why not go into tourism.” People underestimated the complexity of the business, they had no desire to understand the intricacies, and the company went bankrupt after the first season. There are no simple businesses, even if it seems otherwise from the outside.
Factor 2. Grit
Literally, grit means “gravel” or “sand,” but this word is used as an analogue of the Russian expression “gritting your teeth.” Grit is the ability to go towards a goal as long as it takes, without giving up and without feeling sorry for yourself. Achieving extraordinary results usually requires extraordinary effort. The “10,000 hours” rule, described in the book by Malcolm Gladwell (and not only by him), applies here. The main idea is simple: talent is, first of all, the result of painstaking daily work, and then a combination of various circumstances and inherent genetics.
There's a difference between good sportsmanship and stupidity when it's time to "get off a dead horse." But each person himself determines where his line is. For example, Harland Sanders, founder of the KFC chain, experimented with cooking chicken for six years until he came up with his signature recipe. And the founder of the Starbucks coffee chain, Howard Schultz, was rejected by more than two hundred investors until he found people who believed in his idea.
For myself, I decided that healthy stubbornness is when you have a clear understanding of what resources you can invest in your business, and the desire to fight until these resources run out. And in moments of crisis, the temptation to give up everything will definitely appear. According to my observations, the most difficult period comes when the business is already in full swing, people are working, but there is still no visible success. We planned 6–9 months to achieve the first results, but it took almost 1.5 years. The path to success is a marathon, not a 100-meter race.
Factor 3. Purpose
You can start a business with an idea. Mark Zuckerberg didn't intend Facebook to be what it is today. He just wanted Harvard students to interact more with each other. But when it comes to scaling a business, you can't do without a strategy. The main goal and the stages of achieving it must be clearly communicated to the team.
If you can't answer the question of where you see your business in five years, then you don't know where you're going. Tactics without strategy from a certain point is a road to nowhere. Only by defining the global goal and the time frame for its achievement can you think through tactical steps. For example, the founder of the McDonald's chain, Ray Kroc, mortgaged his house and insurance when he decided to invest in the McDonald brothers' burger joint. I wasn’t afraid, because I saw a big goal - to turn a small burger shop into an international corporation. Which he did.
At the end of 2012, only 5% of our clients independently selected and paid for tours on the website. The rest did this after close communication with our managers, who selected different offers for them. By April 2021, we reached the share of independent purchases of 80%. Determine your main goal, but don't assume that the shortest path to it is necessarily a straight line.
Factor 4. Flexibility of thinking
There will always be obstacles and barriers along the way. Your preliminary calculations may turn out to be very far from your goal; tactics have to be changed depending on external circumstances. American Apparel filed for bankruptcy in 2015. While nearby competitors were looking for opportunities to lower prices and attract new audiences, American Apparel continued to expand extensively with its old product line. As a result, the largest clothing retailer in the United States began to lose out to more flexible competitors and lost the market. Any business can become a hostage to the “straight path”.
Over the 6 years of work, we changed the path to the goal many times. Let me give you a specific example. Our task was to ensure that clients bought tours on the Internet; we never planned to open a network of offices. But it quickly became clear that through our marketing channels we attract a huge audience of people to the site who are not ready to buy online - it is important for them to visit the office and talk with the agent in person. And it will not be possible to filter from our audience only those who value online shopping remotely, without visiting the office. Then we began to build our own franchise network of offline agencies. Since there are clients who are leaving us offline, it would be better if they go to agencies under our brand, and we will earn on royalties, while we ourselves will continue to focus on clients who value the convenience of buying online. The calculation was correct. Today we have 104 partner offices throughout Russia and satisfied clients both online and offline. Without the willingness to change the status quo and constantly reconsider what seems obvious, it is impossible to move forward.
However, there is also another side to the coin. Too much flexibility can lead to loss of focus. When Turkey and Egypt were closed, we were faced with the question of what to sell. We thought about the inbound tourism niche, but our core competencies such as online marketing, IT integration and Russian-speaking call center do not work in this tourism sector. This niche requires other competencies, and to develop them, additional funds. We decided that we still need to focus on our core competencies and look for solutions where they are applicable.
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Perhaps only companies with huge turnover, such as Google and Yandex, can afford to spread themselves across different areas of activity. But they also try to make the most of their core competencies. For example, having created Yandex.Taxi, the company used its programmers, its experience in processing big data, huge traffic and a recognizable brand. Use the strengths of your business and don't try to embrace the immensity. Flexibility must be reasonable.
Factor 5. “Inner compass”
To decide what you love and what you will be willing to do for a long time “gritting your teeth,” it is important to understand yourself.
At McKinsey, I saw many very smart and ambitious people who, for various reasons, did not use their compass and, as a result, felt unhappy and lost. They did everything right from childhood, they were excellent students everywhere, but they were never taught to listen to themselves, to their inner selves. These people continued to work at McKinsey because it was prestigious and financial. But this path requires enormous effort and internal tension and can lead to breakdowns or even depression.
To avoid getting into such situations, you need an “inner compass” that will point you in the right direction. After all, when a person does what he loves, stress and willpower are needed to a lesser extent. However, it is very important to distinguish internal excuses and self-pity from real feelings. To prevent temporary weakness or fatigue from throwing off the needle, you need to periodically take a break and adjust the compass. Moreover, it is likely that the arrow will at some point point in a new direction. People change, and if the passion has passed, then you need to accept it and move on. Learning to listen to yourself is priceless!
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On this occasion, I remember the words of co-founder Dmitry Shirshov: “People should be treated humanely - they should be fired. There are often zombie employees walking around the company who clearly do not enjoy their work. They are tormented, but they do not dare to leave, although deep down they know what is necessary.” Companies fire such employees, and this is good for both people and business.
Factor 6: Believe that you are already successful
Rector of the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo Andrei Sharonov admitted at a recent Forbes Club meeting that for a long time he experienced an impostor complex, because, while holding the post of Deputy Minister of Economics, he was much younger than his colleagues and he had to spend internal resources fighting with himself . Thoughts materialize. If you know that you are successful and nothing can shake your faith in yourself, then you will not be tormented by the fear of failing, of being a failure. You will not waste time trying to prove something to anyone, nor will you waste time on false goals caused by an insatiable ego. You will simply go towards your main goal.
Let's sum it up
It turns out that this expression is a consequence of observing human behavior in various situations. It is not artificially invented and is not the creation of a writer. It turns out that it was generated by the body’s natural defense mechanisms in stressful situations. How can one not recall similar catchphrases:
- The veins are shaking.
- Fly with happiness.
- My heart jumps out of my chest.
- Be petrified by surprise.
- The hair on my head is moving.
- Goosebumps.
- My soul has sunk into my heels.
Without these figurative expressions there would be no bright, original language. People are not robots. They express their creativity in speech. And anyone who has ever experienced something similar will definitely talk about it.
