Grit

1. Grit: The Combination of Passion and Perseverance

Grit is about working on something you care about so much that you're willing to stay loyal to it.

Defining grit. Grit is characterized as the intersection of enduring passion and the steadfastness required to pursue long-term objectives. It involves more than temporary hard work; it is a sustained commitment to goals over extended periods, particularly when encountering obstacles. Individuals with high levels of grit typically exhibit:

• A primary, high-level objective that directs and organizes their various activities.
• A stable interest in and dedicated effort toward this objective over many years.
• The capacity to recover from setbacks, treating them as necessary learning experiences.

Measuring grit. The Grit Scale is a tool used to quantify an individual’s level of perseverance and passion. It evaluates specific behavioral tendencies, including:

• The stability of a person's interests over time.
• The ability to maintain effort despite challenges.
• The consistency in completing initiated tasks.
• The dedication to achieving distal goals.

Research indicates that higher scores on this scale are associated with success across diverse sectors, including academia, professional sports, and the corporate world.

2. Talent Is Overrated: Effort Counts Twice

Our potential is one thing. What we do with it is quite another.

The talent myth. There is a common societal tendency to prioritize natural ability as the primary factor in success. However, evidence suggests that effort plays a more significant role. This relationship can be expressed through two fundamental equations:

1. Talent x Effort = Skill
2. Skill x Effort = Achievement

In this framework, effort is counted twice because it is required both to acquire a skill and to apply that skill productively. Consequently, an individual with moderate talent but high grit can surpass a more talented peer who lacks the same level of persistence.

Examples of effort trumping talent:

• Academic Competitions: In the National Spelling Bee, the most persistent competitors practiced more rigorously and achieved higher rankings.
• Military Training: At West Point, grit was a better predictor of completing initial training than academic scores or physical markers.
• Professional Sales: Grit served as a reliable indicator for both employee retention and long-term sales performance.

The primary conclusion is that the consistency of effort over time is a more reliable driver of achievement than innate potential.

3. Develop Your Interests Before Committing to Them

Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.

Interest development is a process. Passions are rarely discovered in a finished state; instead, they are cultivated through a gradual process involving:

1. Initial exposure to various subjects or activities.
2. The receipt of encouragement and positive feedback.
3. The progressive deepening of technical knowledge and proficiency.

This evolutionary process can take years and frequently involves exploring paths that do not lead to long-term commitment.

Stages of interest development:

1. Initial curiosity sparked by early exposure.
2. Participation and active learning.
3. Identifying the relevance and connections within the field.
4. Establishing a sense of deep meaning and long-term purpose.

To effectively develop interests, individuals should:

• Explore a wide variety of activities to find areas of resonance.
• Allow sufficient time for an interest to mature before deciding to move on.
• Locate environments and mentors that provide necessary support.
• Attempt to align personal interests with broader objectives and values.

Interests naturally evolve over time. The objective is to balance an openness to new experiences with the discipline required to build depth in a specific area.

4. Practice Deliberately to Improve Your Skills

There are no shortcuts to excellence. Developing real expertise, figuring out really hard problems, it all takes time—longer than most people imagine.

Deliberate practice. High-level expertise is not the result of mere repetition, but of deliberate practice. This structured approach to improvement includes:

1. Concentrating on specific, isolated aspects of performance that need refinement.
2. Obtaining immediate and objective feedback on performance.
3. Engaging in repetitive practice followed by reflection and adjustment.

Deliberate practice is often cognitively demanding and may not be inherently enjoyable, as it requires individuals to focus specifically on their weaknesses and operate outside their comfort zones.

Implementing deliberate practice:

• Define clear, difficult goals for every practice session.
• Utilize coaching and expert feedback to identify errors.
• Prioritize the quality of execution over the total volume of work.
• Consistently evaluate performance to find areas for improvement.
• Maintain a stable and disciplined practice schedule.

Examples of deliberate practice in action:

• Athletics: A swimmer focusing exclusively on the mechanics of a turn rather than general conditioning.
• Arts: A musician repeating a specific difficult measure slowly rather than playing an entire piece.
• Business: A salesperson using role-play to refine responses to specific customer objections.

Deliberate practice is a skill that improves with use. Success involves starting with manageable goals and gradually increasing the difficulty of the training sessions.

5. Connect Your Work to a Greater Purpose

What ripens passion is the conviction that your work matters.

Finding purpose. Gritty individuals are often motivated by the belief that their work contributes to the well-being of others. This external focus provides the resilience needed to endure challenges. Purpose can be cultivated by:

1. Identifying how one's tasks provide value to others.
2. Finding ways to increase the significance of current responsibilities.
3. Learning from role models who demonstrate a sense of mission.

Three levels of work orientation:

1. Job: Work is viewed primarily as a means of financial support and security.
2. Career: Work is viewed as a path toward professional advancement and status.
3. Calling: Work is viewed as an end in itself, providing intrinsic satisfaction and social contribution.

Those who categorize their work as a calling tend to exhibit more grit and higher life satisfaction. Strategies for fostering this include volunteering, mentoring others, and aligning daily operations with the organization’s larger mission. Sense of purpose often grows incrementally through small, meaningful contributions.

6. Cultivate a Growth Mindset to Enhance Grit

Whether you think you can, or think you can't—you're right.

Growth mindset vs. fixed mindset. A growth mindset is the belief that fundamental abilities can be enhanced through dedication and education. In contrast, a fixed mindset views intelligence and talent as unchangeable traits. A growth mindset supports grit by:

• Viewing difficult tasks as opportunities for development.
• Increasing endurance when facing obstacles.
• Encouraging a continuous focus on self-improvement.

Developing a growth mindset:

1. Accepting that difficulty and failure are essential parts of the learning curve.
2. Valuing the process and strategies used, rather than just the final result.
3. Actively seeking out tasks that exceed current skill levels.
4. Treating critical feedback as a tool for progress.
5. Maintaining a curiosity-driven approach to new information.

Examples of growth mindset in action:

• Education: A student analyzing a poor grade to improve future study habits rather than questioning their intelligence.
• Sports: An athlete analyzing a loss to identify specific technical weaknesses.
• Entrepreneurship: A business owner treating a failed project as a source of data for the next venture.

Because mindset is malleable, consciously adopting a growth-oriented perspective can strengthen grit and expand an individual's potential for achievement.

7. Create a Culture of Grit in Your Environment

If you want to be grittier, find a gritty culture and join it. If you're a leader, and you want the people in your organization to be grittier, create a gritty culture.

Cultural influence on grit. The surrounding social and organizational environment significantly impacts individual persistence. To foster grit:

1. Associate with individuals who demonstrate high levels of perseverance.
2. Participate in organizations that emphasize long-term commitment.
3. As a leader, establish norms that reward resilience.

Creating a gritty culture:

• Define and communicate ambitious, long-term organizational goals.
• Prioritize the recognition of effort and tenacity over innate talent.
• Highlight and share internal stories of resilience and recovery.
• Provide resources for structured skill development and deliberate practice.
• Promote the idea that failure is a learning opportunity.

Examples of gritty cultures:

• Professional sports teams that prioritize constant competition and improvement.
• Military institutions that emphasize discipline and the ability to endure.
• High-performance firms known for intensive professional development and rigorous standards.

Culture is built through the accumulation of consistent signals and actions. The behavior of leaders and peers serves as a blueprint for the grittiness of the entire group.

8. Parents and Mentors: Supportive Yet Demanding

The work of parenting, teaching, mentoring, and coaching is, in many ways, the work of gritting up the next generation.

The parenting paradox. The most effective way to instill grit in others is to be simultaneously supportive and demanding. This "wise" approach involves:

• Offering emotional warmth, encouragement, and validation.
• Maintaining high standards for performance and behavior.
• Respecting the individual’s autonomy and decision-making.

Strategies for wise parenting and mentoring:

1. Demonstrate gritty behavior through personal actions.
2. Facilitate the exploration of various interests.
3. Provide the structure necessary for deliberate practice in a chosen field.
4. Help link specific activities to a larger sense of purpose.
5. Model and teach the principles of a growth mindset.
6. Allow individuals to experience the consequences of a lack of effort.
7. Focus praise on the process of improvement and the effort exerted.

Examples of wise mentoring in action:

• Requiring a commitment to finish a season or project before allowing a person to quit.
• Providing emotional support during a failure while focusing on the steps needed to improve.
• Resisting the urge to intervene immediately when a person is struggling with a difficult task.

Building grit in others is a long-term endeavor. Consistency and patience are required, as character and resilience are shaped by many small interactions over several years.

Last updated: January 22, 2025