My Notes from Grit

My Notes posts are the key ideas I jot down about books after I read them. They capture what caught my attention and I want to remember. I post them here to share them with you.

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

by Angela Duckworth
Notes from Sept 19, 2016
  • Consistent theme in success:
    • “In sum, no matter what domain, the highly successful has a kind of ferocious determination that played out in two ways,. First, these exemplars were unusually resilient and hardworking. Second, they knew in a very, very deep way what it was they wanted. They not only had determination, they had direction.” p8

  • Specific domains need other things –
    • salespeople->prior experience,
    • students->supportive teacher,
    • Green Berets->physical fitness
    • BUT grit still mattered for all of them
  • Talent x effort = skill
  • skill x effort = achievement or talent x effort x effort = achievement
  • Take the Grit Scale Test.
  • From Stanford psychologist Catharine Cox 1926 study of high achievers: key difference of successful “geniuses”
    •  Degree to which one works with distant objects in view (as opposed to living from hand to mouth). Active preparation for later life. Working toward a definite goal.
    • Tendency not to abandon takes from mere changeability. Not seeking something fresh because of novelty. Not “looking for a change.”
    • Degree of strength of will or perseverance. Quiet determination to stick to a course once decided upon.
    • Tendency not to abandon tasks in the face of obstacles. Perseverance, tenacity, doggedness.
  • 1 and 2 are passion, 3 and 4 are perseverance
  • Genes predict 37% of perseverance and 20% of passion
  • Experience matters, we appear to get more grit over time, starts on Grit Scale at 3.4 in our 20’s and ends up at 3.9 in our 60’s
  • Interest
    • Before hard work comes play
    • Early Years – relaxed, playful interest, discovery, development
    • See work from Benjamin Bloom
    • Paul Silvia
      • For the beginner, novelty is anything that hasn’t been encountered before
      • For the expert, novelty is nuance
    • Angela’s suggestions
      • What do I like to think about?
      • Where does my mind wander?
      • What do I really care about?
      • What matters to me most?
      • How do I enjoy spending my time?
      • What do I find absolutely unbearable?
  • Practice
    • World class people practice more
    • But Anders Ericsson research shows they practice in a deliberate way:
      • They find a specific stretch goal
      • Give goal undivided attention and great effort to achieve
      • ASAP, they gather feedback on how they did.
      • Repeat, repeat, repeat with reflection and refinement
      • Tends to requite more effort and is less enjoyable
    • Connecting to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Flow…
      • Gritty people do more deliberate practice and experience more flow
  • Purpose
    • Gritty people are dramatically more motivated by meaningful, other-centered work
    • The three bricklayers story
    • Yale professor Amy Wrzesniewski finds that people naturally split evenly into the three groups
    • Recommends “thinking about how, in small but meaningful ways, you can change your current work to enhance its connection to your core value.”
    • Teenagers who connect self and others to their future calling are more motivated
  • Hope
    • “Fall seven, rise eight.” -Japanese saying
    • Optimists can find reasons something didn’t work
    • Pessimists blame themselves, the conditions are permanent (learned helplessness)
    • Sales – Optimists outsell pessimists 20-40%
    • Carol Dweck – Fixed vs. Growth Mindset (people can change)
      • Growth mindset people are grittier than fixed mindset.
      • Growth Mindset -> Optimistic Self-Talk -> Perseverance Over Adversity
  • Parenting for Grit
    • Successful (“Wise”) parenting involves being supportive AND demanding
    • Consistent activity outside of class is predictive of grit.
    • This involves multiple years and receiving achievement for success
    • Her family has The Hard Thing Rule
      • Everyone has to do a hard thing
      • You can quit (when the season is over)
      • You can pick your hard thing
  • People are more satisfied with life when they have higher grit.

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