Grit: by Angela Duckworth
The Power of Passion and Perseverance
In Grit, Angela Duckworth, a pioneering psychologist, shows the world that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a blend of passion and persistence. And she calls this “grit.”
From the cover:
“Drawing on her own powerful story as the daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of “genius,” Duckworth, now a celebrated researcher and professor, describes her early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience, which led to the hypothesis that what really drives success is not “genius” but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance.
In Grit, she takes readers into the field to visit cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, teachers working in some of the toughest schools, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she’s learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers - from J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff to Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.
Why should you read this book?
Grit shows us that we don’t have to be the most talented to succeed. We just have to have some passion and perseverance. Whether this is starting a business or writing a book or chasing a dream, having grit will only benefit us. Grit is not just something we need to develop for ourselves but also in our children. Grit helps us overcome challenges we face in the world. Instead of falling victim to obstacles, we find ways to work through them.
“To be gritty is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. To be gritty is to hold fast to an interesting and purposeful goal. To be gritty is to invest, day after week after year, in challenging practice. To be gritty is to fall down seven times, and rise eight.”
Key Points:
Grit is a combination of passion, perseverance, and direction.
Talent isn’t everything. We tend to give a lot of power to “natural gifts.” Yet some of the most talented people don’t succeed. Why? Because they lack effort. You might have a goal, but if you don’t show up and work hard, you won’t succeed. Our potential is one thing, but what we do with it is quite another.
Effort counts twice. When we overemphasize talent, we underemphasize everything else. The best athletes and performers work extremely hard to be the best. Superlative performance is really a combination of dozens of small skills and activities, which were drilled into habit then fitted together as a whole. We’re not superhuman. But greatness is when we prefer our excellence to be fully formed. We work tirelessly to get better and better.
An Equation of Achievement: talent x effort = skill and skill x effort = achievement. Talent is how quickly our skills improve when we invest in effort. Achievement is what happens when you take your acquired skills and use them. Effort builds skill. And effort makes skill productive.
Excellence requires endurance. If we want to achieve excellence, we have to be passionate about what we do while staying passionate over time.
How do we stay passionate? First, we must evaluate our goals and limit ourselves to the most important ones. Too many goals can leave us spread too thin. It’s best to stay true to the ones that matter most to us.
To stay passionate for a life-time requires four things:
Interest. If you're not truly invested in it, odds are your passion won’t last. Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and a lifetime of deepening.
Practice. If you’re not willing to do whatever it takes to improve, you’ll grow complacent. Grittier people practice more. They put in the effort.
Purpose. Without any conviction, it’s nearly impossible to sustain a goal for a lifetime. Purpose is the intention to contribute to the well-being of others. If you believe your work has a great purpose, you’ll be motivated to work harder at it.
Hope. Hope needs to be part of every aspect of our goals. It pushes us forward. For gritty people, hope rests on the expectation that our own efforts can improve our future.
As a parent, the best way to develop gritty children is a combination of tough love with affection and support. Grittier kids are more likely to succeed in college and overcome life obstacles. We need to be challenged and disciplined, but not for disciplines sake. As parents, we must be child oriented. Our tough love can’t come from a parent’s desire to control. You can be tough in a loving way. And you can be loving in a tough way. Wise parenting requires a balance of being supportive and demanding while neglectful parents are under-supportive or under-demanding. Or either too demanding and less supportive or vice-versa.
A great way to cultivate grit in a household is the “Do Hard Things Rule.” This is a collective challenge where everyone in the family has to do something difficult that requires daily deliberate practice. Whether it’s sports, yoga, running, music or writing, the idea is to develop grit by actively working on a self-oriented goal. Each person gets to choose their hard task because this requires interest. It has to be something we want to do. You’re allowed to quit, but you can’t quit until an allocated amount of time has passed or until you’ve reached a natural stopping point. The idea is to not give up just because the task is hard. The “Do Hard Things Rule” is a great way to develop grit through perseverance and passion.
Grit can be learned. It doesn’t require a high IQ or superior circumstances. Grit is something we can all develop. It just takes a few committed practices to achieve excellence.
About the Author
Angela Duckworth is an American academic, psychologist, and popular science author. She is the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she studies grit and self-control. She is also the Founder and former CEO of Character Lab, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance the science and practice of character development.