What Is Grit & Why You Want It

Did you know that the measure of one’s potential success might have less to do with your IQ and more to do with your level of “grit”?

In fact, Angela Duckworth, a renowned Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and recently named 2013 MacArthur Fellow, considered the "guru" on the topic, argues that grit is more about "passion and perseverance" than talent in determining who among us will succeed in achieving our life-goals.

Last month Duckworth was a keynote speaker at the Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB) Annual Conference, which was attended by Vicky Newman, Founder and Executive Director, and Muffy Fox, her colleague in Day and Boarding School Advisory Services, Greenwich Education Group.

At the conference, Duckworth presented the findings of the Duckworth Lab, which has invested in extensive research on grit as a "significant predictor of success." In fact, it is proven that grit is unrelated to and possibly inversely related to talent.

"Living Life Like A Marathon, Not A Sprint"

Duckworth explained that through her research she observed a variety of individuals from teachers in challenging districts to  West Point Military Academy cadets to children who entered the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The common denominator for those who succeeded - grit. "Having stamina; sticking with your future, day in and day out not just for the day, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years."

At West Point, Duckworth administered the grit assessment to over 1,200 freshman cadets just prior to their summer training course commonly known as “Beast Barracks." West Point utilizes their own evaluation process, which includes academic, physical and leadership components, called the Whole Candidate Score, to judge incoming cadets and predict their success at West Point. However, it was the Duckworth grit assessment that ultimately turned out to the more accurate predictor as compared to the West Point evaluation. 

How do I build grit?

Duckworth revealed that she is asked this question all the time. She responds that "the best idea she has heard so far about building grit in kids" is the concept of "growth mindset," which was developed by Dr. Carol Dweck at Stanford University.

Dr. Dweck states, “In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong. In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point.”

The premise behind growth mindset is that the ability to learn in not fixed, but rather that it can be changed with effort. In fact, students who learn about the concept of growth mindset actually deal with failures not as setbacks but as learning experiences from which they actually grow. By understanding the concepts of grit and mindset growth, they in turn face hurdles with a better record of overcoming them and subsequently “grow” their probability of future success.

Newman remarked how "intrigued" she is "by Angela's longitudinal research on how "grit" is tied to being successful in life. There is so much we can learn from her work that can help us raise kids with determination, integrity, character and confidence."

What to find out how gritty you are? Click here to find our what your grit score is.

To learn more about Duckworth's view on grit, watch her April 2013 TED Talk. 

Greenwich Education Group is proud to offer individual and group sessions in building grit in students. Please contact Diane Ferber at dferber@greenwichedgroup.com for more information.