GRIT | The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth [Part 1/2]

by Panzer
Many of you have probably seen Angela Duckworth’s TED Talk on Grit, which gave an excellent
bird’s eye view on the topic.
Her talk inspired and intrigued me, so I picked up her book titled Grit – The Power of Passion
and Perseverance which dived deeper into the topic.
In this video, I’ll be summarizing the key points from this insightful book and include
anecdotes from my own life as well.
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Now Angela Duckworth is an academic, psychologist and author.
She has been awarded various accolades for her research of grit and self-control, and
is currently at University of Pennsylvania where she also received her Ph.D. In psychology.
The term grit has become somewhat of a buzz word in education policy, and we have Angela
Duckworth to thank for that.
The key message of the book is best summarized with this quote from Dr. Duckworth: “When
I get knocked down, I’ll get back up.
I may not be the smartest person in the room, but I’ll strive to be the grittiest.”
We will go over not only what grit is, but why you should care about it, and how to cultivate
it yourself.
So first, What is Grit?
Angela shares an anecdote about the United States Military Academy named West Point – a
highly competitive four year academy.
In selecting applicants, the admissions officers relied heavily on the Whole Candidate Score,
which includes academic scores, leadership abilities, and fitness.
However, it was not a reliable predictor of who would make it through Beast.
Beast Barracks, formally known as Cadet Basic Training, is a 7 week process that turns people
accepted into West Point from civilians to cadets.
It is notoriously trying and many don’t make it through.
Interestingly, talent had little to do with who made it through – it wasn’t a lack
of ability.
Rather, they had the wrong attitude.
Those who made it through consistently demonstrated a “never give up” attitude.
Angela goes on to explain that the highly accomplished in any field were paragons of
perseverance, meaning they were a perfect example of someone who is doggedly determined
and does not give up.
What’s the reason these people were more likely to be successful?