The Next Big Idea Angela Duckworth Now Thinks "Grit" Wasn't the Whole Story
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Sep 28, 2026 
Angela Duckworth, psychologist, author of Grit, and professor, revisits her famous ideas on perseverance through her new book, Situated. She explores why environments, relationships, neighborhoods, and even phone placement shape behavior and identity. They discuss burnout, parenting, AI, mentors, leadership, and knowing when to persist, change course, or quit.
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Your Situation Activates Different Selves
- Places and people cue different selves, such as Angela becoming a daughter at her mother's home and a productive professor elsewhere.
- Peer groups reshape speech, beliefs, and behavior; AA works partly by replacing an alcoholic's immediate social network.
A New School Changed Her Daughters' Ambitions
- Angela's daughters began discussing reach and safety schools within days of moving to a college-focused magnet school.
- Their new peers and school culture changed what they valued more powerfully than parental conversations.
Small Situational Changes Can Compound
- Situations create virtuous or vicious cycles: behavior reinforces circumstances, which then amplify future behavior.
- Economic mobility can be hyper-local; moving a few blocks may change schools, safety, diversity, and nearby role models.
