“Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” Digest
Notes for Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, written by Angela Duckworth
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, written by Angela Duckworth, reveals “grit” as the key factor to success. It’s one of those books that not only points out what’s hiding in plain sight, but clearly demonstrates its remarks as it dissects what it’s pointing out. Surely, there are many reasons to read this book, but if you’re reflecting on your path in life and looking for some insights on how to proceed, it’s a powerful and enabling read.
Summary
Preface
Angela Duckworth’s father would always tell her that she’s not a “genius”. In Adulthood, after Angela accomplished so much and received a McArthur genius award, her father told her he was proud of her, but Angela knew it wasn’t genius or talent that led up to that accolade. Angela believes it’s passion and perseverance that led to her success.
Duckworth’s research has shown that “grit”, a measure of passion and perseverance, matters more than talent or genius.
You can pursue what you love, spend your life working on that, and succeed regardless of talent or genius. Grit is mutable, and this book explains why.
Part 1: What Grit Is and Why It Matters
Chapter 1: Showing Up
Psychologists have unsuccessfully tried to understand what predicts success at West Point, but while they had developed measures of talent, they did not have a measure of perseverance or “grit”. Measures of talent did not predict dropouts.
Grit, a combination of passion and perseverance, did not correlate with talent, but did predict success. “Grittiness” was the key factor to success, not only at West Point, but also in other contexts (military, arts, education, business).
Successful people have some sense of direction and persevere in going in that direction, and they handle failure well. On the other hand, there are many cases of talented people who quit when the going gets tough. Duckworth says, “our potential is one thing, what we do with it is quite another”.
Chapter 2: Distracted by Talent
We’re attracted to talent, but effort is more important than talent in reaching our destination.
Surveys indicate that Americans consistently endorse striving over talent, yet still act with a hidden bias for talent. Teachers will enjoy a “quick study” more than the struggling yet diligent student, and we admire when people are a “natural” at something.
Darwin’s persistence in thinking hard about problems long after others have lost interest is attributed to his success.
Chapter 3: Effort Counts Twice
We overemphasize talent, and underemphasize everything else.
What we often admire as excellence and high performance is an aggregate of many small and mundane feats done persistently over a prolonged period of time. Therefore, greatness is achievable.
We attribute a giftedness to achievers because it is easier to superficially recognize their perfection in the present moment than it is to deeply examine their past in a way that might expose our imperfections through contrasts with our past and theirs.
Talent x Effort = Skill, Skill x Effort = Achievement
Chapter 4: How Gritty Are You?
We have a top-level goal / ultimate goal / “ultimate concern”, and then many intermediate (mid-level and low-level) goals. The top-level goal is something you do “just because”, and is as if written in ink; the intermediate goals are as if they’re written in pencil and just serve the ultimate goal.
If I were to list all of my career goals and only select three, the others are intermediate goals at best and, at worst, irrelevant things to avoid at all costs. It’s too easy to waste vital time and energy on things that are suboptimal to the goal hierarchy. There are many things that we might want to do, but only the things best aligned with an ultimate goal efficiently and sustainably invokes the depths of our abilities.
“Passion is a compass.”
Chapter 5: Grit Grows
Grit is only mildly heritable (say about 30%), and grit is mostly built through experience (say about 70%).
Environment is a major influence, and environment is mutable.
Older people have more grit, which may be a cultural difference between generations, or (more likely) a result of life lessons along the way.
Necessity can invoke grit and serve as a life lesson. For example, when you have to be on time and being late is terminal, you will find a way to be on time.
Grit can be grown through — interest, — practice, — purpose and — hope.
Part 2: Growing Grit from the Inside Out
Chapter 6: Interest
Without interest, people become unhappy, unproductive, actively disengaged and fail to stick with it.
“Before hard work comes play”. At first, it can take some playtime with something before you find it interesting. What is interesting might not be apparent with a shallow take on a potential interest. Once interested, it takes hard work to become an expert.
Our interests and vocational leanings tend to develop around middle school.
Chapter 7: Practice
Deliberate practice is how to improve and make progress towards a goal, rather than merely going through the motions and stagnating. Improvement is not simply about investing great amounts of time.
Deliberate practice happens by breaking down the component skills, setting measurable stretch goals that challenge a skill beyond current capability, and repeatedly struggling towards the goal and reflecting on mistakes. It is best to have a consistent schedule and location to practice, which minimizes any overhead or distractions.
Deliberate practice is different from the flow state. Deliberate practice is highly effortful and focuses on finding weaknesses and learning from mistakes, which can even feel frustrating when done right. Flow is an effortless state that feels sublime when done right. Practice is preparation, flow is performance.
Deliberate practice, though often difficult and strenuous, can be enjoyable and gratifying. Don’t think that you have to torture yourself to improve, be positive. Don’t look backwards unsatisfied, look forward to growing. You may grow a taste for the strain and pain of practice.
Chapter 8: Purpose
Purpose is “the intention to contribute to the wellbeing of others”. Purpose is the answer to why?, or what’s the point?.
People with a calling say their “work makes the world a better place”. They have a purposeful and life-organizing top-level goal, and it serves the greater good.
The key to cultivating a calling is finding a way to benefit the greater good.
First, a person develops through self-oriented interest, then with deliberate practice, and then by helping others through an other-oriented goal (purpose).
Chapter 9: Hope
Hope is resolving to improve tomorrow, rather than merely wishing tomorrow will be better. Despair and hopelessness, as opposed to hope, comes from a perceived lack of control regarding suffering. When an animal is incapable of altering the amount of suffering they must endure, they will eventually give up, even when a solution is introduced later (learned helplessness). When an animal is exposed to suffering, but has some control over the dosage of suffering, they do not acquire learned helplessness.
Pessimists will believe that the cause of suffering is pervasive and permanent, whereas an optimist will believe that there is an opportunity to do things differently and search for it so they can try again.
Optimists have a growth mindset, since they resolve to proceed in some way in response to setbacks and failure. This is the way to grow from failure, rather than to stagnate or quit.
It’s not about avoiding setbacks and failures, but rather it’s about learning and growing from setbacks and failures. Setbacks and failures are inevitable, so it’s crucial to learn how to grow from failure. Don’t be discouraged for long, and take advantage of setbacks and failures to thrive.
Encouragement and positive language cultivates hope. You can improve your self-talk to be more encouraging and positive by working with a cognitive behavioral therapist.
Part 3: Growing Grit from the Outside In
Chapter 10: Parenting for Grit
We often think that being stern or tough with a child is mutually exclusive from being caring or loving. This is a false dichotomy, both are key components. The important aspect is that the parent is keeping the child’s wants and needs in mind, but, since a child’s judgement isn’t yet as well-formed, the parent will need to be stern in setting limits and guidelines.
Warm, respectful but demanding caretakers are following the “psychologically wise” parenting style. Duckworth hopes to do more research to determine the best parenting style, but she believes this parenting style is the most successful.
Regardless of our biological relation to someone, we can always demonstrate these qualities when mentoring an individual and help them realize their potential.
Chapter 11: The Playing Fields of Grit
Students who followed through on sticking with an extracurricular activity for two or more years were much more likely to graduate from college than students who only participated for one year.
Structured focused adult-supervised activities that are both challenging and fun put students into a virtuous cycle for developing grit.
Opposite from “learned helplessness”, there is such thing as “learned industriousness”. “The association with working hard and reward can be learned”.
Grit is transferrable to other contexts.
Chapter 12: A Culture of Grit
People can cultivate grit by finding a gritty culture and joining it.
By being in-group with a culture of excellence, other members will reinforce the right words and values needed to keep a person focused and striving. A person will find it easier to conform to the culture of excellence than to defy it.
Excellent organizations are a result of their culture and can transform people into highly capable people, regardless of initial ability. An organization can enable a virtuous cycle of grit.
Much like parenting, leaders are valuable in helping people have a plan for their vision, and helping them execute.
Chapter 13: Conclusion
Grit can be grown inside out by cultivating interests, working hard and practicing, connecting that work to a purpose that benefits others, and keeping hope when all seems lost.
Grit can be grown outside in by being influenced by our environment and leaders who instill the principles of grit in us.
Grit correlates positively with wellbeing. It is one of the few traits that doesn’t follow the goldilocks rule, even the grittiest people wouldn’t say they would be better off with less grit. One caveat, however, is that sometimes sticking to things like a damaging job or relationship isn’t a good use of grit; rearranging intermediate goals is fine so long as the goals still serve the top-level goal.
Grit isn’t the only important thing about a person’s character. While grit predicts success and achievement, it’s essential to be sociable and open to ideas. Duckworth identifies three clusters of virtue that make up the dimensions of character:
Intrapersonal, strength of will (grit, self-control, things that get you hired)
Interpersonal, strength of heart (emotional intelligence, things that make you memorable and a supportive friend)
Intellectual, strength of mind (curiosity, engagement with ideas, positive relationship with learning)
Questions
How does a person actively develop a purpose / top-level goal and vision for themselves? The book almost makes it seem like a vision, with all certainty, simply comes to a person who is practicing something vigorously.
Do gritty people look different? Can you see it in their micro expressions? Could Angela Duckworth guess someone’s score just by looking at them?
Works Cited
Duckworth, Angela. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Toronto, Ontario, Harpercollins, 2016.