INTRODUCTION
In the pursuit of success, we often attribute achievement to talent, overlooking the profound influence of passion and perseverance. Angela Duckworth’s groundbreaking book, “Grit: The Power of Passion & Perseverance”, goes against the traditional notions of success and dives deeper into the aspect of grit. This book goes over different aspects like passion, practice, perseverance, purpose, hope, and how grit can be cultivated from within and outside, etc.
WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
The book “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth is a must-read for anyone striving to succeed, which includes students, parents, educators, business professionals, athletes, coaches, etc. The author’s research and personal experiences make this book a compelling read for anyone seeking to achieve greatness.
SUMMARY AND KEY TAKEAWAYS
GRIT DEFINITION
Angela defines “Grit” as a combination of passion & perseverance. It is the ability to sustain effort and dedication that’s required to navigate challenges and triumph over time. She also designed a tool to measure an individual’s grit to achieve their goals.
“Our potential is one thing. What we do with it is quite another.”
Angela meets various psychologists, athletes, scientists, coaches, etc., from all over the world during the course of this book, and almost all of them mention that the “focus on talent distracts us from something that is at least as important, and that is effort.”
EFFORT COUNTS TWICE
Talent is how quickly your skills improve when you put in the effort. Achievement is what happens when you take your acquired skills and use them. But effort is something that builds those skills and makes those skills productive.
Angela mentions that we often don’t put in the required effort to acquire a new skill. We seem to quit far earlier and far more often compared to a gritty person. The gritty ones, on the other side, wake up the next day no matter what, and they keep going at it with consistency. This marks the difference between a gritty and an average person.
“Consistency of effort over the long run is everything.”
“Eighty percent of success in life is showing up.” – Woody Allen (Writer & Director)
And to get good at those skills, you would have to overextend yourself. Stretching a little bit out of your comfort zone or what you are used to doing, makes you understand the errors or what you are doing wrong and make the required course correction along the way. That’s how skills improve.
“Without effort, your talent is nothing more than your unmet potential. Without effort, your skill is nothing more than what you could have done but didn’t. With effort, talent becomes a skill, and, at the very same time, effort makes skill productive.” -Angela
By recognizing the dual role of effort, individuals can harness its potential to drive success in their chosen endeavors.
Angela covers a lot of real-life stories of gritty individuals like writers, athletes etc. who persevere in the face of setbacks, they often outperform their talented counterparts. Grit is the common factor that connects these high achievers across different fields.
“Grit is about having the same top-level goal for a very long time. In very gritty people, most mid-level and low-level goals are, in some way or another, related to that ultimate goal. In contrast, a lack of grit can come from having less coherent goal structures.” – Pete Carroll
Having a clear sense of passion and purpose is crucial for developing grit. Passion is what provides the motivation needed to overcome challenges.
From the various studies Angela has conducted and after speaking to a lot of gritty people around the world mentions that there are 4 psychological assets that contribute to Grit. They are
- INTEREST: Passion begins with intrinsically enjoying what you do. The paragons of grit love what they do.
“Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and then a lifetime of deepening.” - PRACTICE: They deliberately practice the skill daily irrespective of external factors. One form of perseverance is the daily discipline of trying to do things better than yesterday. The basic requirements of deliberate practice are:
- A clearly defined stretch goal.
- Full concentration and effort.
- Immediate and informative feedback.
- Repetition with reflection and refinement.
- PURPOSE: They have a higher purpose than themselves. They consider their work is important to themselves and others. Sustaining interest without purpose is nearly impossible.
“Purpose means the intention to contribute to the well-being of others.”
Angela has 3 recommendations on how to “cultivate a sense of purpose.”- Reflecting on how the work you’re doing already can make a positive contribution to society.
- Recommends thinking about how, in small but meaningful ways, you can change your current work to enhance its connection to your core values.
- Finding inspiration in a purposeful role model.
- HOPE: Hope is a rising-to-the-occasion kind of perseverance. Grit depends on a different kind of hope, which is along the lines of “I resolve to make tomorrow better” compared to “I have a feeling tomorrow will be better”. Old Japanese saying – “Fall Seven, Rise Eight”.
“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t – you’re right.” – Henry Ford
GROWTH MINDSET VS FIXED MINDSET
Angela goes over the concept of the “Fixed Mindset” of normal people and the “Growth mindset” of gritty people.
A fixed mindset about ability leads to pessimistic explanations of adversity, and that, in turn, leads to both giving up on challenges and avoiding them in the first place.
In contrast, a “growth mindset” leads to an optimistic way of explaining adversity, and that, in turn, leads to perseverance and seeking out new challenges that will ultimately make you even stronger.
Growth Mindset -> Optimistic self-talk -> Perseverance over adversity
CULTIVATING GRIT
While some people may naturally have more grit, it can also be cultivated and developed over time. Embracing a growth mindset, maintaining resilience in the face of adversity, and consistently applying are the key components in cultivating grit.
GRIT OUTSIDE IN
Grit can be cultivated or learned from others as well. Grit can be taught by teachers, parents, coaches, etc. Parenting plays a key role when it comes to fostering grit in children. There are 4 parenting styles according to psychologists.
These 4 parenting styles are decided on the basis of the X-axis (demanding vs undemanding), Y-axis (supportive vs unsupportive). Wise parents are those who are loving and supportive (they appreciate that children need love, limits, and latitude to reach their full potential. Their authority is based on knowledge and wisdom rather than on power). They know when to love and when to push their children. The gritty paragons generally have wise parents (more often than not), according to studies.
“You don’t need to be a parent to make a difference in someone’s life. If you just care about them and get to know what’s going on, you can make an impact. Try to understand what’s going on in their life and help them through that.”
PLAYING FIELDS OF GRIT
There could be other playing fields of Grit like Music school, soccer field, etc. Grit can be enhanced by doing other activities like ballet, piano, football, or any structured extracurricular activity. These have 2 benefits:
- An adult who is not the parent, who is supportive and demanding.
- These activities cultivate interest, practice, purpose, and hope.
“Learning to follow through on something hard in high school seemed the best possible preparation for doing the same thing later in life.”
Angela’s family has a rule called the “Hard Thing Rule” which has 3 parts:
- Everyone – including Mom and Dad – must do a hard thing. A hard thing that requires deliberate practice.
- You can quit. But you can’t quit until the season is over, the tuition payment is up, or some other natural point has arrived.
- You get to pick the hard thing (whichever interests you).
CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT
The culture and environment in which we live can impact the development and expression of grit. Understanding and navigating these influences is crucial for optimizing the conditions that encourage the growth of grit.
“If you want to be grittier, find a gritty culture, and join it. If you’re a leader, and you want the people in your organization to be grittier, create a gritty culture.”
J.P.Morgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon says “Have a fierce resolve in everything you do. Demonstrate determination, resiliency, and tenacity. Do not let temporary setbacks become permanent excuses. And finally, use mistakes and problems as opportunities to get better – not reasons to quit.”
“In a team, one person’s grit enhances the grit of the others, which in turn inspires more grit in that person, and so on, without end.”
CONCLUSION
Angela Duckworth encourages readers to reconsider the notion of talent which is distracting our focus from the power of passion and perseverance in achieving success. Duckworth argues that grit can be a more significant predictor of success compared to talent. This book provides valuable insights into having a healthy emotional life, growing grit from within and outside, cultivating interests, purpose, etc.
