Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Is grit over-rated? As Professor Angela Duckworth’s new book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance , roars up the best-sellers charts and dominates headlines around the world some interesting questions are starting to be asked. If grit out predicts IQ as the research suggests, should children be graded on it ? Is grit simply a new term of already well-established psychological concepts like conscientiousness ? Have the findings on grit been overstated ?
Clearly the idea that grit is one of the keys to success has grabbed our curiosity. After all as Angela herself writes in the book after asking three hundred American adults to tell her how they felt about their grit scores: “In the entire sample, there wasn’t a single person, who upon reflection, aspired to be less gritty.”
But is Angela’s book helping or hindering our efforts to bring out the best in ourselves and others?
Having sat in Angela’s statistics class as part of my studies for the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology , I have come to admire her genuine passion for finding research-based answers to the puzzle of human flourishing and her commitment to being completely transparent about the limitations of the research. To this end she notes: “This book has been my way of taking you out for a coffee and telling you what I know.”
In a nutshell throughout the book Angela explains:
She also acknowledges that there is much her research is still learning.
While at times Angela’s previously cautious academic conclusions about grit have been pushed towards best-selling guarantees, I believe this book is a helpful addition to people’s thinking about the science of achievement. In particular her re-framing of genius as being able to work towards excellence with every element of your being and the steps she lays out, opens up pathways of hope that are accessible not only to the ‘gifted’ or ‘lucky’ when it comes to achieving what matters to us most.
You see Angela suggests that when people drop out of things, they tend to do so because: they’re bored , they don’t think the effort is worth it, it’s not important enough to them or they don’t think they can do it, so they might as well give up. But she’s found that p aragons of grit have four things in common and they counter each of these excuses:
Angela has also found that while grit can be cultivated within you, the parents, teachers, coaches, leaders, mentors, colleagues and friends around you also improve your levels of grit. It seems that having other gritty people who you can turn to for help and encouragement is critical when it comes to accomplishing what matters to you the most.
Like any research on human behaviour the key to benefiting from Angela’s work is to be an informed and intelligent consumer of what the science is suggesting. Use her research insights to challenge your existing thinking, inspire new practices and then observe what works best in your world and for the outcomes you value. After all even the most robust research on human behavior only tells us what works for some of the people, some of the time.
That Angela’s findings are being hotly debated in some quarters , I also think – and I believe she would agree ( great podcast of her responses to the criticisms ) – is an important part of helping the research mature. However, as a practitioner looking for tested, practical ways to help others I would plead that this healthy debate be aimed at improving our understanding and practices, rather than taking down well-intentioned researchers to further our own professional reputations.
What can you do to be grittier?
For more watch Angela’s TED talk on grit , grab a copy of her book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance and measure your grit levels by clicking here .
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Michelle McQuaid, Ph.D., is a workplace well-being teacher translating research from positive psychology and neuroscience into practical strategies for health, happiness, and business success.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.