The Truth About Grit.

Jonah Lehrer, writing for The Boston Globe, wrote an article about the idea of "grit".  After reading the article (a copy can be found here), here was my response to what grit is, and why it's important. 

If you want to be successful, then you need grit.  My initial response to the idea that success stems from persistence was... “well, duh”.  However, when looking a little deeper into the characteristics of what grit really is-- how it is demonstrated and developed-- I realized that there might be more to it.   

To me, the most interesting aspect of grit is the extent to which it can shape lives. Whether in a professional, educational, or everyday setting, grit can shape a person’s response and reaction to any given situation.  “Nobody is talented enough to not have to work hard, and that’s what grit allows you to do,” says Angela Duckworth, who conducted recent and in-depth grit analysis (Lehrer).  In fact, studies have shown that children who are praised for their perseverence over intellect are more apt to persevere in the future.  

As a parent and also as an individual who wants to succeed, I was particularly interested in different methods of obtaining and practicing grit.  Through his endless desire to solve problems, Richard Feynman demonstrated that curiosity can be a motivator for persistence.  After discovering a problem, as Feynman often did, grit demanded he also have a strong desire to solve that problem  (Feynman).  As his success suggests, that method of effort can lead to life full of opportunity. 

Once discovering the problem, you must believe in your own success, and follow it through to the end.  In its development of child curriculum programs, the US Department of Education studied and reconized the importance of grit.  “There is a need to develop empirically based models of pathways for developing grit, tenacity, and perseverance over time, in different contexts, and for different types of goals and challenges.”  (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology)  It is only with a focus on these traits that we, as both a society and individuals, will progress at our maximum capacities.