A REPORT card with top marks doesn’t guarantee a life on the clouds. Neither does social intelligence, nor good looks. Heck, not even talent.
University of Pennsylvania Psychology Professor Angela Lee Duckworth determined what dictates a person’s success deals with commitment—and that is “grit”.
“Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality,” Duckworth said in her spirited talk that went viral on social-media platforms recently. “Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
The video was actually recorded in 2013, as part of an official TED Conference, a biannual, weeklong series of talks in the fields of Technology, Education and Design, regarded by attendees as “the ultimate brain spa”. Duckworth’s video is one of the most-viewed TED talks of all time with more than 11 million—yes, million—views.
A magna cum laude in Advanced Studies Neurobiology from Harvard University, Duckworth worked as management consultant before pursuing a career as a teacher. It was her time working in the academe, facing students in different levels of capacities and pursuits, that she formalized her interest in the dynamics of the path to success.
Duckworth said IQ was not the only difference between her best and worst students, adding that she was firmly convinced anybody could learn if one really wanted to. This led her to believe that education needs to be viewed from a psychological perspective. “In education, the one thing we know how to measure best is IQ,” she said. “But what if doing well in school and in life depends on much more than your ability to learn quickly and easily?”
The question sparked a fire in Duckworth. She then took postgraduate studies, culminating with a Doctorate in Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and became a psychologist.
She studied different subjects, from cadets in West Point Military Academy to children in National Spelling Bee, to pursue an answer to the question: Who was successful here and why?
“In all those very different contexts, one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success,” Duckworth said. “It wasn’t social intelligence. It wasn’t good looks, physical health, and it wasn’t IQ. It was grit.”
The findings are no different from the testimonials of people who have made it despite being dealt a bad hand. From a cousin who had to drop school because of teenage pregnancy but somehow found a way to get back up, to a friend born to a poor family but worked his way to the top, there’s no shortage of these tales. Most, if not all of them, are stories of perseverance, hard work, dedication…or, as Duckworth would have it, grit.
The psychologist, who also authors the 2016 New York Times bestseller Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, said the most shocking thing about grit is how limited our knowledge is about it.
“Every day, parents and teachers ask me, ‘How do I build grit in kids? What do I do to teach kids a solid work ethic? How do I keep them motivated for the long run?’ The honest answer is, I don’t know,” she said, which was greeted by audience laughter.
One thing’s for sure, though: “Talent doesn’t make anyone gritty,” Duckworth said. According to her data, many talented people simply fail to follow through on their commitments. They even found out that grit is “usually unrelated or even inversely related to measures of talent.”
In some ways, that line closely rings to the Filipino saying, “Talo ng masipag ang magaling.”
Anyway, Duckworth proceeded to discuss there’s a possibility of cultivating grit in kids. The idea, developed by Carol Dweck at Stanford University, is called “growth mind-set”.
The concept posits that the ability to learn is not fixed, but can change with effort. An example given by Dr. Dweck, as quoted by Duckworth, is that when kids study the brain and how it changes and grows in response to challenge, they are much more likely to persevere when faced with failure, because they believe that failure is impermanent.
The idea, however, is not enough, according to Duckworth. She said concepts and intuitions need to be tested and measured for us to know what it truly takes to teach grit. In the process, we have to be willing to fail and start over with lessons learned.
“In other words,” Duckworth said. “We need to be gritty about getting our kids grittier.”
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WHY is it important to teach grit at a young age? Because once acquired, it can never be unlearned. Like wine, it ages well, too.
In a recent press junket to Taiwan recently—ahead of the Taiwan Expo 2017, an event organized by Taiwan Association Inc. and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council set from September 29 to October 1 at the SMX Convention Center, showcasing what the progressive neighboring country has to offer—grit was on the eyes of our tour guide.
Albert Jhou is full of life, knowledge and passion. He is also 60 years old and retired.
While other people his age prefer to enjoy the spoils of retirement, Jhou continues to grit and grind passionately. A self-professed music fan, he even went beyond his to-your-left-is and to-your-right-is duties to share us his talents performing a couple of songs with his harmonica on bus rides.
“Here in Taiwan, we work very hard when we are still young,” Jhou said on a downtime at one stop in Taipei. “We usually continue to work after retirement because we’re used to that. Two of my friends who stopped working when they retired are gone now. We need to continue working because it’s good for the body. And besides, I don’t want to just sit around. I love my new job as a tour guide.”
Jhou worked as an engineer for decades. He said that in postretirement, he studied and applied to be a tour guide. It’s a new industry with a new set of challenges and opportunities that he welcomes with open arms.
Despite the commitment to his job, Jhou knows how to unwind. Every year, he makes sure to go on vacation with his wife, usually in Europe, because they both love traveling.
Remember what Duckworth, the psychology professor and TED Talk speaker, said? “Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” If that’s the case, Jhou is certainly winning his race.