The Transformative Quality of Grit
By Brielle Smith, MA
For most students, we are halfway through the school year. It can be a difficult time– with school assignments piling up, checking in on grades, extracurricular activities, and not to mention dealing with stress from post-holiday break, social media, news stories, or even east coast winter settling in with darker, colder days. But also, it can be a hopeful time. A new year can bring a reflective opportunity.
So, in light of a time of creating or updating goals, especially during what can be considered a difficult time generally-speaking, I wanted to discuss the transformative quality of grit.
Our understanding of failure
Failure is something we all experience. It is common to fear it, like being afraid of making a small mistake, experiencing a setback, or being humiliated in front of others. But, some people may have a fear of failure that is crippling. There are various reasons for how fear of failure can be developed, but largely it is related to how we think about failure.
At times, through various experiences one can learn and come to believe that failure and performance are attached to our identity and self-worth. According to a Psychology Today article, after repeated failures, negative thoughts like, “Maybe I’m just not smart, skilled or talented enough to succeed,” invade our minds. For example, we may learn at some point that success is a linear process, free from setbacks and doubts. This is where we may also hold the idea that you should only have certainty with no anticipation of failure. Or one may believe that failure is for people who are not good enough at what they do or are not meant to be doing what they are doing (July 1, 2022, Sarantopoulou).
These thoughts and beliefs can lead to a mindset that results in us either not trying at all to reach our goals or significantly lowering our standards of success, because not pursuing an important goal is less painful than finding out that we are not competent enough to achieve it. Thus, an illusion develops that in attempts of avoiding failure, we can preserve our self-worth.
Researcher Carol Dweck shows the power of these most basic beliefs. Whether conscious or subconscious, they “affect what we want and whether we succeed in getting it.” In her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she shares the power of mindset– especially in how we perceive adversity and setbacks. Dweck notes two mindsets, a fixed mindset and a growth mindset (Dweck, 2006). She shares, “...in the growth mindset, failure can be a painful experience. But it doesn’t define you. It’s a problem to be faced, dealt with, and learned from'' (Dweck, 2006). For more information on a fixed vs. growth mindset, check out her book detailed above.
How we think about failure contributes to why we succeed, or don’t. Thus, how we perceive what is within our control to foster success is influenced.
What helps us get through adversity & helps us achieve our dreams
So, then what is within our control? Dweck along with another researcher, Angela Duckworth, argue that what is within our control is something that we can develop within ourselves. According to Duckworth, grit explains why, when confronted with the possibility of failure, some of us work twice as hard while others head straight for the door (Duckworth, 2016).
Duckworth defines grit as passion and sustained persistence applied toward long-term achievement. Grit combines resilience, ambition, and self-control in the pursuit of long-term goals (Duckworth, 2016). Her research found that natural ability and intelligence can only get you so far, she adds, “But no matter how gifted you are—no matter how easily you climb up the learning curve—you do need to do that climbing. There are no shortcuts” (2024, Duckworth). Grit is important in how it bridges this gap between raw talent and potential and achieving success (Duckworth, 2016). Thus, without the drive and determination to follow through, your potential will remain untapped.
To be gritty is to have an understanding of failure that seems to fuse compassion and our ability to learn from mistakes. In her study of West Point cadets, the ones who made it through the regime failed as many times as the dropouts, but did not allow the failures to define them. The successful cadets were able to quickly remind themselves that they are imperfect human beings and learn from their mistakes moving forward (2023, Dec. 3; Montez). This can happen to anyone. And thankfully, anyone can develop passion and perseverance.
To connect with our gritty side, Duckworth suggests:
“First, we must consider what we are interested in. Only after discovering and deepening that interest can we do the ‘difficult, effortful and sometimes frustrating practice that truly makes us better’... In addition, we must also maintain a sense of hope or resilience, even in the face of setbacks” (Dec. 2023, Montez; Duckworth, 2016).
This is easier said than done. You can try these five recommended strategies for developing grit.:
Find your passion: If you don’t have enough passion for something, you will not perform to the best of your abilities and will eventually lose interest.To find your passion, think about what you like to do in your spare time
Practice: Whether you want to perform as first chair in an orchestra, score 1,000 points in basketball, or win a spelling bee… it all requires practice.
Give yourself time: Achieving long-term goals requires patience. This is not an overnight process.
Immerse yourself in gritty culture: Surround yourself with others who are gritty. Follow particular pages or individuals on your social media to interact often with gritty content.
Encourage grit in others: Model it by wearing your passion on your sleeve.
To keep yourself continually pushing through and working hard without overextending, it’s important to work on developing the skills needed to help you to balance your energy and interests. Skills like mindfulness can be helpful for building mastery over your thoughts and emotions, as well as decreasing reactivity to stressful situations. Perhaps this even comes with the understanding that breaks are just as important as the hard work.
Additionally, grit is not always needed for success, as there are other goals for which enduring passion and perseverance are less relevant (Duckworth, 2016). Getting started on your taxes before April 15 takes self-control more than grit, for instance. Same goes for studying for a math test on Friday when you’d rather be hanging out with friends or watching Youtube.
Get gritty! Encourage others. Surround yourself with supportive people. Take breaks. Do self-care.
Recommended Reading:
Grit: the Power of Passion and Perseverance (2016) by Angela Duckworth, PhD.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006) by Carol Dweck, PhD.
Atomic Habits: Tiny changes, Remarkable Results (2018) by James Clear.
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References:
Berger, M. W. (2020, November 10). “A lesson in grit from Angela Duckworth”. Retrieved from https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/lesson-grit-angela-duckwort
Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: the power of passion and perseverance. New York, NY; Scribner.
Duckworth, A. (2024, Jan.). “STRENGTH OF WILL: Grit”. Retrieved online from, https://characterlab.org/character-hub/playbooks/grit/
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.
Montez, M. (2023, Dec. 3).“The Quad: What is the key to success? For some, it’s the embrace of failure”. Retrieved online from https://dailybruin.com/2018/12/03/the-quad-what-is-the-key-to-success-for-some-its-the-embrace-of-failure
Sarantopoulou, V. (2022, July 1). “What Causes Fear of Failure? A Psychologist Explains”. Retrieved online from https://www.antiloneliness.com/self-development/what-causes-fear-of-failure-a-psychologist-explains
