Angela Duckworth, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of "Grit," joins the discussion to redefine success. She explains how grit—passion and perseverance—outweighs mere talent. Angela shares ways to measure your grit and strategies to enhance it for achieving seemingly impossible goals. The conversation dives into the importance of recognizing when to pursue challenges versus letting go of lost causes, emphasizing that lifelong learning and self-reflection are crucial for growth.
Grit, defined as a combination of passion and perseverance, is crucial for accomplishing long-term goals and pushing through challenges.
Effort plays a dual role in skill development and application, surpassing talent in terms of achievements.
Developing psychological assets like interest, practice, purpose, and hope can nurture and strengthen grit.
Deep dives
The Importance of Grit in Achieving Long-Term Goals
Grit, defined as a combination of passion and perseverance for long-term goals, plays a crucial role in determining the quality and quantity of our efforts over a lifetime. It is essential for accomplishing long-term goals that hold significance to us. While talent may provide a head start in skill development, effort is what drives skill acquisition and makes it productive. Grit enables individuals to push through challenges, setbacks, and even failures, maintaining focus on high-level goals and continuously striving for improvement.
Passion and Perseverance as Components of Grit
Grit comprises two key components: passion and perseverance. Passion is fueled by interest and purpose. It involves being captivated by the subject matter and experiencing a deep sense of meaning and connection to it. Perseverance, on the other hand, is driven by daily practice and resilience. It involves consistent efforts to improve and overcome setbacks, failures, and adversities. Gritty individuals find ways to derive satisfaction and progress from both small and large victories, maintaining a forward-looking and growth-oriented mindset.
The Relationship Between Talent, Effort, and Achievement
While talent may provide a natural advantage in learning and skill acquisition, effort is instrumental in turning talent into tangible achievements. Talent helps develop skill, but effort plays a dual role: it leads to skill development and ensures the productive application of that skill. A person who exerts consistent effort over time can surpass someone with more talent but less effort in terms of accomplishments. Effort's impact on achievement extends to various domains, including education and sports, requiring the dedication to practice, persevere through challenges, and continually pursue improvement.
Grit and Achievement
Grit, defined as the combination of passion and perseverance, plays a crucial role in achieving success. Talents should not be seen as fixed abilities but as skills that can be developed through effort and practice. Friedrich Nietzsche argued that labeling extraordinary achievements as 'natural' or 'genius' lets us off the hook and limits our own potential. By recognizing that excellence is built through consistent effort, individuals can break down complex goals into manageable components and work towards achieving them step by step. An understanding of the hierarchy of goals and the coherence of one's actions towards fulfilling their highest-level goal is essential for grit. Maintaining consistency, tenacity, and flexibility at different levels of goals determines the success of one's pursuits.
Cultivating Grit
Grit can be developed and cultivated through four key psychological assets: interest, practice, purpose, and hope. Developing a deep interest in a particular subject or endeavor provides the foundation for perseverance and growth. Practice is crucial for honing skills and improving performance over time. As individuals delve deeper into their pursuits, a sense of purpose emerges, connecting their actions to a higher goal or cause. Finally, hope, the belief that there is something one can do, fuels resilience in the face of setbacks and challenges. Each of these components can be nurtured and strengthened through intentional efforts and understanding the science behind their development.
Angela Duckworth (@angeladuckw) is a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, founder of the non-profit Character Lab, co-host of the No Stupid Questions podcast, and author of NYT bestseller Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. [Note: This is a previously broadcast episode from the vault that we felt deserved a fresh pass through your earholes!]
What We Discuss with Angela Duckworth:
What grit is and how it overrides the myth of innate "talent."
How to quantify your own level of grit.
How to grow your grit and achieve what once seemed impossible.
Why, when you’re a lifelong learner, you’re always going to see in hindsight how you might have done something better in the past — and this is a sign of improvement.
How to know the difference between a lost cause to abandon and a challenge worthy of pursuit.
