Grit
Angela Duckworth
Grit
Angela Duckworth
The Power of Passion and Perseverance
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- 10 key ideas
- Text
- Published 2016
Introduction
In Grit, Angela Duckworth, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that what people achieve over a lifetime depends less on talent than on grit, her name for passion and perseverance toward long-term goals. She draws on her own studies at West Point, the National Spelling Bee and elsewhere, and on conversations with people who reached the top of their fields.
The book has three parts. Part 1 explains what grit is and why she thinks it matters. Part 2 looks at four ways to grow it from the inside: interest, practice, purpose and hope. Part 3 looks at how parents, activities and culture can grow it from the outside, and a short conclusion sets out its limits.
The research behind the book is debated. A 2017 review that combined many studies found grit only moderately linked to performance and very closely tied to conscientiousness, and Duckworth herself doubts that her Grit Scale should be used for high-stakes decisions.
- 1Duckworth argues that grit, more than talent, tells you who keeps going
- 2Effort counts twice: it builds skill, and it turns skill into achievement
- 3Grit means holding one top-level goal for a very long time, while staying flexible about the steps
- 4Grit grows: it is partly inherited, partly learned, and it rests on four assets
- 5Interest: passion is discovered a little, developed a lot and deepened over a lifetime
- 6Practice: gritty people practice deliberately, and they also find flow
- 7Purpose: the wish to help others is what ripens passion
- 8Hope: the belief that your own effort can make tomorrow better
- 9From the outside: wise parents and hard activities can grow grit
- 10Culture shapes identity, and grit is only one part of character
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