Bookworm: Grit

Passion and perseverance lie at the heart of success, writes Angela Duckworth.

What’s this book about?

Grit rests on an observation that highly successful people are extremely hard working, persistent and have a clear picture of what they want to achieve.

Its author is the highly successful Angela Duckworth, an American academic, pioneering psychologist, and popular science wrtier who has advised the World Bank, NBA and NFL teams, and Fortune 500 CEOs..

Her concept sounds familiar?

Grit has drawn comparisons to Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, which argues that becoming an expert or master performer in any given field involves 10,000 hours of practice. Duckworth includes a similar quote in her book, in fact, from a master ceramicist: “The first 10,000 pots are difficult. And then it gets a little bit easier.”

The point she's making is that nothing trumps persistent hard work – or grit. You might be extremely gifted, you might even be a genius, but the greatest in their field work tirelessly to improve – and keep working tirelessly even when they succeed, not just when they face the inevitable disappointments of life.

But we all have the power to succeed?

Yes, if we are really motivated to go for it – and stick at it. Duckworth’s findings around ‘grit’ are able to help her predict who in a training scheme is going to drop out and who is going to stay the course.

Grit, as the title suggests, is passion and perseverance; if someone on a training scheme – a military cadet programme, in the case of this book – answers questions in a way that suggests they lack sufficient grit, they will reliably be the ones who give up earlier.

Does Duckworth practise what she preaches?

Oh yes, she definitely practises. In her family they have a rule: you try something hard and stick with it for as long it takes; you can only stop when a natural break (for example, the end of a season) arrives.

Duckworth believes that because she and her husband follow this rule too, their daughters won’t resent it; they will learn that committing to difficult but worthwhile things is something we all do because it is a habit that brings out the best in us.

What else does Duckworth recommend?

Something she calls ‘deliberate practice’. If we practise the same thing over and over again we might not improve our skill. Instead, we need to try deliberate, or targeted, practice, aiming to achieve something specific in each practice session. To improve a skill, we need to want to enhance it and work strategically to refine it. That takes grit.

What are the practical takeaways from the book?

Here are some of Duckworth’s core messages: We should set ourselves two major goals in life that matter to us above anything else and work on these. If we’re not currently as good at something as somebody else, we should remember that nothing is fixed; our brains are plastic. With grit, we can be as good in the future.

However, we also need know know that there is no quick fix. We have become a society used to getting the things we want easily and quickly. Try something that feels difficult, practise constantly and find someone qualified to provide ongoing feedback.

What am I most likely to say after reading this book?

“I’m never giving up!”

What am I least likely to say after reading this book?

“I thought this would be easy.”