GRIT - THE POWER of PASSION and PERSEVERANCE

"Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" is a compelling book by psychologist Angela Duckworth. The book challenges the conventional wisdom that success is solely a result of talent, proposing instead that a special blend of passion and long-term perseverance, termed "grit," is a more significant predictor of achievement.

Duckworth's research reveals that the most successful individuals demonstrate grit, which combines a sustained commitment to specific long-term goals (passion) with the ability to work tirelessly towards those goals and easily bounce back from failure (perseverance). Gritty people understand their objectives clearly, dedicate time and energy to building the necessary skills, and consistently apply those skills until they succeed.

The book is divided into three parts. The first introduces the concept of grit, the second explains how to identify and develop the four key traits of grit—interest, practice, purpose, and hope, and the final part provides guidance on how parents, educators, and leaders can help others cultivate grit.

Duckworth's own journey, from a teacher to a business consultant and then a neuroscientist, serves as a powerful narrative throughout the book. Her father's constant reminder that she was "no genius" ironically led her to win a MacArthur “Genius Grant” for proving that grit matters more than talent.

In conclusion, "Grit" is a groundbreaking exploration of what drives success, offering valuable insights into how grit can be nurtured and leveraged to achieve extraordinary accomplishments.

Thoughts

I've experienced grit when there are things that 'need to be done'. If such tasks arise, I'm relentless until they're finished, no matter the circumstances and effort required.

Further References: Expert on Parenting -> Nancy Darling

Notes

What is Grit

Showing Up | S.8

In sum, no matter the domain, the highly successful had a kind of ferocious determination that played out in two ways. First, these exemplars were unusually resilient and hardworking. Second, they kew in a very, very deep way what it was they wanted. They not only had determination, they had direction.

It was a combination of passion and perseverance that made high achievers special. In a word, thy had grit.

Naturalness Bias

Distracted By Talent | S.25

The naturalness bias is a hidden prejudice against those who've achieved what they have because they worked for it, and a hidden preference for those whom we think arrived at their place in life becuase they're naturally talented. We may not admit to others this bias for naturals; we may not even admit it to ourselves. But the bias is evident in the choices we make.

Assemble Excellence

Effort Counts Twice | S.36

Superlative performance is really a confluence of dozens of small skills or activities, each one learned or stumbled upon, which have been carefully drilled into habit and then are fitted togeter in a synthesized whole. There is nothing extraordinary or superhuman in any one of those actions; only the fact that they are done consistently and corretly, and all together, produce excellence.

How to Get from Talent to Achievement

Effort Counts Twice | S.42 ff.

If talent falls short of explaining achievement, what's missing? The answer is effort:

There are who equations relating to achievement: - Talent x Effort = Skill - Skill x Effort = Achievement

Talent is how quickly your skills improve when you invest effort. Achievement is what happens when you take your acquired skills and use them.

Talent - how fast we improve in skill - absolutely matters. But effort factors into the calculation twice, not once. Effort builds skill. At the very same time, effort makes skill productive.

Envision Goals in a Hierarchy

How Gritty Are You? | S.62 ff.

At the bottom of this hierarchy are our momst concrete and specific goals - the tasks we have on our short-term to-do list. These low-level goals exists merely as means to ends. We want to accomplish them only because they get us something else we want. In contrast, the higher the goal in this hierarchy, the more abstract, general, and important it is. The higher the goal, the more it's an end in itself, and the less it's merely a means to an end. [...] The top-level goal is not a means to any other end. It is, instead, and end in itself.

Grit is about holding the same top-level goal from a very long time. Furthermore, this life philosophy is so interesing and important that it organizes a great deal of you waking activity. In 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.

• A goal hierarchy that has a top-level goal but no supporting mid-level or low-level goals.
• A bunch of mid-level goals that don't correspond to any unifying, top-level goal.
• Competing goal hierarchies that aren't in any way connected with each other.

Giving Up Lower Level Goals

How Gritty Are You? | S.74

Indeed, giving up on lower-level goals is not only forgivable, it's sometimes absolutely necessary. You should give up when one lower-level goal can be swapped for another that is more feasible. It also makes sense to switch your path when a didderent lower-level goal - a different means to the same end - is just more efficient, or more fun, or for whatever reason makes more sense than your original plan. On any long journey, detours are to be expected. However, the higher-level the goal, the more it makes sense to be stubborn.

Personality Change Through Life Experience

Grit Grows | S.87

Exactly how does experience change personality? One reason we change is that we learn something we simply didn't know before. For instance, we might learn through trial and error that repeatedly swapping out one career ambitino for another is unfulfilling. [...] Years of hard work are often mistaken for innate talent, and that passion is as necessary as perseverance to world-class excellence.

Likewise, we learn, that "to do anything really well, you have to overextend yourself", to appreciate that, "in doing something over and over again, something that was never natural becomes almost second nature", and finally, that the capacity to do work that diligently "doesn't come overnight".

Other than insights into the human condition, that else is there that changes with age? Our circumstances. As we grow older, we're thrust into new situations. [...] And we change. We rise to the occastion. In other words, we change when we need to. Necessity is the mother of adaption.

How Grit Grows

Grit Grows | S.91 ff.

The research reveals the psychological assets that mature paragons of grit have in common. There are four. They tend to develop, over the years, in a particular order.

First comes interest. Passion begins with intrinsically enjoying what you do. Every gritty person can point to aspects of their work they enjoy less than others, and most of them have to put up with at least one of two chores they don't enjoy at all. Nevertheless, they're captivated by the endeavor as a whole. With enduring fascination and childlike curiosity, they practically shout out, "I love what I do!".

Next comes the capacity to practice. One form of perseverance is the daily discipline of trying to do things better than we did yesterday. So, after you've discovered and developed interest in a particular area, you must devote yourself to the sort of focused, full-hearted, challenge-exceeding-skill practice that leads to mastery. You must zero in on your weaknesses, and you must do so over and over again, for hours a day, week after month after year. To be gritty is to resist complacency. "Whatever it takes, I want to improve!" is a refrain of all paragons of grit, no matter their particular interest, and no ma tter how excellent they already are.

Third is purpose. What ripens passion is the conviction that your work matters. For most people, interest without purpose is nearly impossible to sustain for a lifetime. It is therefore imperative that you identify your work as both personally interesting and, at the same time, integrally connected to the well-being of others. Fully mature exemplars of grit invariably tell me, "My work is important - both to me and to others."

And, finally, hope. Hope is a rising-to-the-occasion kind of perseverance. Hope defines every stage of grit. From the very beginning to the very end, it is inestimably important to learn to keep going even when things are difficult, even when we have doubts. At various points, in big ways and small, we get knocked down. If we stay down, grit loses. If we get up, grit prevails.

Reinforce Interest by Listening

Interest | S.111

It's not imporatant that I understand everything. It's important that I listen.

Interest Is a Basic Drive

Interest | S.114

If babies didn't have a strong drive for novelty, they wouldn't learn as much, and that would make it less likely they'd survive. "So, interest - the desire to learn new things, to explore the world, to seek novelty, to be ont he lookout for change and variety - it's a basic drive.

Conscious Incompetence to Unconscious Competence

Practice | S.123

Until conscious incompetence becomes unconscious competence.

Deliberate Practice

Practice | S.131

Gritty people do more deliberate practice and experience more flow.

Basic Requirements of Deliberate Practice

Practice | S.137 ff.

There are three rules to deliberate practice, Know the Science, Make it a Habit, Change the Way You Experience It.

Know the Science

Deliberate practice has four requriements: - A clearly defined strech goal - Full concentration and effort - Immediate and informative feedback - Repetition with reflection and refinement

Make it a Habit

Figure out when and where you're most comfortable doing deliberate practice. Once you've made your selection, do deliberate practive then and threre every day.

Change the Way You Experience It

It's all about in-the-moment self-awareness without judgement. It's about relieving yourself of the judgement that gets in the way of enjoying the challenge.

The Difference Between a Job, a Career and a Calling

Purpose | S.150, S.152

• a job (I view my job as just a necessity in life, much like breathing or sleeping.)
• a carrer (I view my job primarily as a stepping-stone to other jobs) or,
• a calling (My work is one of the most important things in my life).

It's not that some kind of occupations are necessarily jobs and others are careers and still others are callings. Instead, what matters is wheter the person doing the work belives that laying down the next brick is just somethin that has to be done, or instead something that will lead to further personal success, or, finally, work that connects the individual to something far greater that the self.

Developing a Calling

Purpose | S.153

A lot of people assume that what they need to do is find their calling. I think a lot of anxiety comes from the assumption that your calling is like a magical entity that exists in the world, waiting to be discovered. That's also how people mistakenly think about interests, I pointed out. They don't realize they need to play an active role in developing and deepening their interests.

Recommendations on Finding Purpose

Purpose | S.166 f.

• reflecting on how the work you're already doing can make a positive contribution to society.
• 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.

The Road to Hopelessness

Hope | S.172

... it isn't suffering that leads to hopelessness. It's suffering you thing you can't control.

Optimists vs Pessimists

Hope | S.174

Optimists habitually search for temporary and specific causes of their suffering, whereas pessimists assume permanent and pervasive causes are to blame.

Fixed vs Growth Mindset

Hope | S.191 f.

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 int he first place. In contrast, a growth mindset leads to optimistic ways of explaining adversity, and that, in turn, leads to perserverance and seeking out new challenges that will ultimately make you even stronger.

Wise Parenting

Parenting for Grit | S.212

Wise parenting describes a parenting style which is based on supportive and demanding parents. Parents in this quadrant are accurate judges of the psychological needs of their cildren. They appreciate that children need love, limits, and latitude to reach their full popential. Their authority is based on knowledge and wisdom, rather than power.

Wise Feedback Condition

Parenting For Grit | S.219 f.

Using "wise feedback" can have a profound effect on the development of grit. Teachers who are demanding - whose students say of them, "My teacher accpts nothing less than our best effort," and "Students in this class behave the way my teacher wants them to" - produce measureable year-to-year gains in academic skill of their students. Teachers who are supportive and respectful - whose students say, "My teacher seems to know if something is bothering me," and "My teacher wants us to share our thoughts" - enhance students' happiness, voluntary effort in class, and college aspirations.

It's possible to be a psychologically wise teacher, just as it's possible to be permissive, authoritarian, or negligent. And it's the wise teachers who seem to promote competence in addition to well-being, engagement, and high hopes for the future.

An example for wise feedback is: "I'm giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them."

The Hard Thing Rule

The Playing Fields Of Grit | S.241 f.

First Part: Everyone has to do a hard thing. A hard thing is something that requires daily deliberate practice.

Second Part: You can quit. But you can't quit until the season is over, the tuition payment is up, or some other 'natural' stopping point has arrived. You must, at least for the interval to which you've committed yourself, finish whatever you begin. In other words, you can't quit on a day when you teacher yells at you, or you lose a race or you have to miss a sleepover because of a recital the next morning. You can't quit on a bad day.

Third Part: You get to pick your hard thing. Nobody picks it for you because, after all, it would make no sense to do a hard thing you're not even vaguely interested in.

Fourth Part: You must commit to your hard thing for at least two years.

For parents who would like to encourage grit without obliterating their children's capacity to choose their own path, I recommend the Hard Thing Rule.

Cultivating Grit

A Culture Of Grit | S.245

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.

Conformity to Get Grittier

A Culture Of Grit | S.247

It seems that there's a hard way to get grit and an easy way. The hard way is to do it by yourself. The easy way is to use conformity - the basic human drive to fit in - because if you're around a lot of people who are gritty, you're going to act grittier.

How Gritty People Live

A Culture Of Grit | S.250

Culture and identity are critical to understanding how gritty people live their lifes. The logic of anticipated costs and benefits doesn't explain their choices very well. The logic of identity does.

Seattle Seahawks Decrees

Always Compete!

1. Protect the Team
2. No Whining, No Complaining, No Excuses
3. Be Early

Grow Your Grit

Conclusion | S.269

On your own, you can grow your grit 'from the inside out': You can cultivate your interests. You can develop a habit of daily challenge-exceeding-skill practice. You can connect your work to a purpose beyond yourself. Any ou can learn to hope when all seems lost.

You can also grow your grit 'from the outside in'. Parents, coaches, teachers, bosses, mentors, friends - developing your personal grit depends critically on other people.

Discontinuing Goals

Conclusion | S.272

Finishing whatever you begin without exception is a good way to miss opportunities to start different, possible better, things. Ideally, even if you're discontinuing one activity and choosing different lower-order goals, you're still holding fast to your ultimate concern.

Enemy of Grit

Seven Questions I Get Asked About Grit | S.288

Effortless entertainment is the enemy of long-term passion and perserverance.