'Grit' is the x factor that makes people persevere and succeed. Angela Duckworth has researched grit and found that grit is a reliable predictor of those who made it and those who did not. This book came highly recommended by Vijay Menon so I bought it and read it. Right up there are lines from Angela Duckworth which impressed me.
'You say I am no genius. But let me tell you something. I'm going to love my work. I won't have a job, I'll have a calling. I'll challenge myself everyday. When I get knocked down I will get back up. I may not be the smartest person in the room but I'll strive to be the grittiest.'
That says it all.
Another line that stayed. 'The highly accomplished are paragons of perseverance. Their ferocious determination played out in two ways - they were unusually resilient and hardworking. Second, they knew in a very deep way what they wanted.. They not only had determination, they had direction.'
Passion + Perseverance = Grit.
Once Angela figured that Grit was a reliable predictor of who made it and who didn't she created a Grit scale (which I will find a link to).
https://getlighthouse.com/blog/grit-skill-interview-for-how-to-look-for-it/
Among her many findings was that talent was no guarantee of grit. Potential is one thing, but what we do with it is another. Aptitude did not guarantee achievement. The brightest are not always the best - so do not get distracted by talent. In the end as much as talent counts, effort counts twice. (All these sound very familiar to what I learned in the book 'Mindset' but that's ok)
Another quote.
'Great things are achieved by people whose thinking is active and in one direction, who employ everything as material, who always zealously observe their own inner life and that of others, who never tire of combining together that means available to them.' - Don Chambliss
And another
'Do not talk about giftedness, inborn talents! Great men acquired greatness. They all possessed that seriousness of the efficient workman who first learnt to construct the parts properly before venturing to fashion a great whole. They allowed themselves time for it because they took more pleasure in making the little secondary things well than in the effect of a dazzling whole'.
Couple more formulas
Talent x Effort= Skill
Skill x Effort = Achievement
"80% of success in life is showing up. Many of us it seems, quit what we start far too early and far too often. Without effort your skill is nothing more than your unmet potential. Without effort your skill is nothing more than what you could have done but did not. With effort talent becomes skill and at the very same time, effort makes skill productive."
"Its doing what you love, but not falling in love - but staying in love."
Angela says - "a clear, well defined philosophy gives you the guidelines and boundaries that keep you on track."
I liked the way she developed the three layers of goal hierarchies.
One top level (long term vision), a few mid level (mid term goals) and many low level goals (daily activities that take you to your final goal). The more unified, aligned and coordinated your goal hierarchies the better.
Warren Buffet's advice to someone - "List 25 goals. Circle the 5 highest priority goals. Avoid the 20 goals you didn't circle because they distract you."
Or the story of Bob Mankoff whose first cartoon was accepted after 2000 were rejected (he obviously loved what he was doing - which means, grit is nothing but love for what you are doing?"
Grit is shown in a not abandoning tasks in the face of obstacles. It shows a degree of strength of will or perseverance. Tenacity. Doggedness. (Like how we cling on to life!)
Putting her research together Angela comes up with four aspects that are required to have grit -
1) Interest
2) Practice
3) Purpose
4) Hope
Interest
Interest doe snot happen in one dramatic moment. "Passion for work is a little bit of discovery followed by a lot of development and a lifetime of deepening." Interests thrive when there is a crew of encouraging people. Angela avers that before hard work, comes play - so do not always make it about hard work. We can make our hard work easy and fun by changing our attitude to it, but to not work hard, will not cut it.
Some questions one can ask oneself - what do I like to think about? Where does my mind wander? What do I really care about? What matters most to me?
Practice
Angela talks of Kaizen, the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement which is what a person with grit displays. Grit is not just the quantity of time spent in practice but the quality of time. Not more time on work but better time on work.
Here Angela dwells on deliberate practice where practitioners who become experts (Anders Ericsson's study on experts) pick a narrow aspect of overall performance, keep challenges they cannot meet, practice and then seek feedback. In other words deliberate practice is
- a clearly defined stretch goal
- full concentration and effort at practice
- Immediate and informative feedback
- Repetition with reflection and refinement
Deliberate practice vs Flow? Deliberate practice was for preparation while flow was for performance.
When you say "that was hard. It was great' you are showing grit.
Purpose
Purpose is about the intention to contribute to the well being of others. She quotes the Alex Scott Lemonade stand as an example - how Scott who died of cancer when nine, started a lemonade stand to raise 2000 $ for cancer patients. Now her Foundation raises over 100 mn for cancer research! That's the power of purpose.
At the core, purpose is the idea that what we do matters to people other than ourselves. One needs to work at it like the world is going to end. Like the lady who drew murals after being diagnosed with an illness - I feel driven by it. Art saves lives. There is a moral imperative to it.
Purpose is a tremendously powerful source of motivation which differentiates between a job, a career and a calling. Whatever you do, you can continually look at what you do and ask how it connects to other people to the bigger picture, how it can be an expression of your deepest values she says. In small meaningul ways you can change your current work to enhance its connection to your core values.
Hope
The resolve to make tomorrow better (instead of merely hoping). Hope is what makes you get up again after falling. Its what makes you learn from everything, the biggest setbacks. Its best explained through the growth mindset.
Fixed Mindset (leads to ) - pessimistic self talk (leads to) - giving up
Growth mindset (leads to) - optimistic self talk (leads to) - persevering in adversity
Update your beliefs about intelligence and talent. Practice optimistic self talk.
Bringing up kids with grit
To bring up kids with grit, one has to learn that teens who are brought up in a warm, respectful and dn demanding environment did better. She gives the example of Cody Coleman who after a horrid childhood found that his elder brother believed he could get into an Ivy League college when he himself did not - and that was all it took - someone to believe in him. He says - stay positive. Go past those negative beliefs about whats possible and whats impossible and just give it a try.
"You don't need to be a parent to make a difference in someone's life. If you just care about them ad get to know what's going on, you can make an impact. Try to understand what's going on in their life and help them through that."
Grit is all about following through. A follow through rating in a study showed evidence of purposeful, continuous commitment to certain types of activities versus sporadic efforts in diverse areas. The key is that the student signed up for something, signed up again the following year and during that time made some kind of progress.
Building a Culture of Grit
"We look for great competitors, the mindset that they are always going to succeed that they have got something to prove. They are resilient, wont let setback hold them back."- Seattle Seahawks
When you adopt a culture, you make a categorical statement to that group. You are in or out. If you want to be grittier, find a gritty culture and join it. If you're a leader and you want people in your team to be grittier, create a gritty culture.
To become a great swimmer, join a great team. The desire to fit in is powerful.
Angela talks about Sis - a Finnish trait, a compound of bravado and bravery, ferocity and tenacity. They attribute it to perhaps coming from Finnish Scouting Association's early introduction to that trait by letting 13 year olds take charge of 10 year olds in scouting camps in the woods..
To build grit - thinking of yourself as someone who can overcome tremendous adversity often leads to behavior that will conform to that self-conception.
To build a great culture - it takes relentless communication. Its what you say and how you say it. and how often. One looks for capability, character and how they treat other people - as traits to look for in a leader.
"Have a fierce resole in everything you do.
Demonstrate determination, resilience, and tenacity.
Do not let short term setbacks become permanent excuses.
Use mistakes and opportunities to get better- not reasons to quit."
Anson Dorrance - uses the beep test to test character - whether you have self discipline and have trained all summer or have the mental toughness to hadnle the pain that most can't. Ideally both.
Respect is an important value to build a gritty culture.
If you create a vision for yourself and stick with it, you can make amazing things happen in your life.
Always compete - be all you can be what it is for you. Reach for your best.
Finishing strong - means consistently focusing and doing your absolute best at every moment from start to finish.
....
Interesting perspectives. I liked the goal hierarchy bit, the many examples, the grit test itself.
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