The Significance of Grit: A Conversation with Angela Lee Duckworth - 0 views
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one specific definition of resilience, which is optimism—appraising situations without distorting them, thinking about changes that are possible to make in your life.
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Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13Of course there is another side to this element of linking optimism to resilience. I can see the commonality in many situations, but I'm wondering if this is a cause/effect relationship... or perhaps merely a correlation. Another important element of "appraising situations without distorting them" is what many people refer to as being "realistic." In other words, not letting optimism cloud one's objective judgement. I think there is a lot at play here.
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only half of the questions are about responding resiliently to situations of failure and adversity or being a hard worker.
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I wonder about many of the questions that relate to sticking with the same thing over and over for an extended period. In other words, you get "grit" points for doing this regardless of whether or not it is a good thing. Seth Godin also taught me that smart people also know when and what to quit.
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And you stick with those interests and goals over the long term.
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Sometimes... for some people... sticking to, and remaining true to... innovation... is a form of resilience. let's not get lulled into thinking that hard headedness equates to brilliant behavior 100% of the time.
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a rigorous admissions process, about 1 in 20 cadets drops out during the summer of training before their first academic year.
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There is one way to be in the US Army: the official way. Follow the program. This is rarely what succeeds in business or entrepreneurship. I think grit in the face of all else is a noble thing. I also think grit on a daily basis... in any walk of life... is valuable. However, it is a better measure of success when the end goal is established and crystal clear.
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It's a similar thing with grit and talent. In terms of academics, if you're just trying to get an A or an A−, just trying to make it to some threshold, and you're a really talented kid, you may do your homework in a few minutes, whereas other kids might take much longer. You get to a certain level of proficiency, and then you stop. So you actually work less hard.
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Again... this assumes everyone being measured on the same scale. One predictor for success. Few variables. The real world (especially as it is shaping up) is brimming with little understood variables. It is no wonder that really talented individuals balk at grades. Grades have so often measured the least common denominators for success. Really talented people rarely aim for this target.
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The people who are, for lack of a better word, "ambitious"—the kids who are not satisfied with an A or even an A+, who have no limit to how much they want to understand, learn, or succeed—those are the people who are both talented and gritty.
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I agree with this on the surface. However, this also assumes that we all hold grades to the same value. It is hard for us in school to not imagine a successful person caring much about grades... but history is absolutely chock full of them. I think "grit" is a more complex thing than having the resilience to stick with a challenging thing that has an agreed-upon measurable finish line.
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there are a lot of fragile gifted and talented kids who don't know how to fail. They don't know how to struggle, and they don't have a lot of practice with it. Being gifted is no guarantee of being hardworking or passionate about something.
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Of course this is true. This is not new. We've know this for decades. Anyone working in gifted education has dealt with this for some time. And I'm not talking fringe articles. I'm talking about accepted, mainstream course curricula at the university & graduate level.
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I thought, "I'm very ambitious. I want to be world-class at something. And this is not a recipe for it."
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Well, ironically... this IS sometimes the recipe for figuring out how to support others at one stage of their quest to become "world class." That , to me, is one of the essential elements of education.
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A lot of young people never get to experience that—being into something for enough years with enough depth so that they really know it. Master teachers know what I'm talking about. So do people who are seriously committed to whatever vocation they have, even people who have a really serious hobby that they've worked at for years. They reach a level of appreciation and experience that novices can never understand.
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I also know that there are as many definitions of "happiness" as there are humans. I'd had to discount what makes every individual truly happy in life for a close-up focus on deep success in one field. What about the genius in those who are marginally successful in several fields, and yet... they can see connections between those... true synthesis of ideas... that none have seen before? I'd hate to thing that in pursuit of grit, we lose the ability to detect genius around us.
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But you know, you also have to be good at something.
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Agreed. But, who are the experts at connections? What if it is not longer "good enough" to be good at "something?" What if it takes multiple areas now? And again... what is the measure of success, or happiness we are shooting for?
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deliberate practice
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As a wrestling coach of 20 years... I am the poster child for advocating "deliberate practice." And yet... there is far more to success than just working really HARD. You have to be working the right things depending on what you're looking for. Grit focused in the right direction is epic. Grit just... focused... may not get you anywhere notable, or even memorable.
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I would probably say "as important," just to be a little conservative.
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a swing back toward a recognition that these standardized tests, although they serve an important function, are limited in their ability to pick up things like grit and self-control—as well as many other traits that I don't study—gratitude, honesty, generosity, empathy for the suffering of others, social intelligence, tact, charisma.
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Good to recognize the plethora of variables that go into making a successful and happy individual.
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They recognize that gym is important, that music is important, that empathy is important. These are qualities that policymakers are less concerned about. But this message really resonates with most people who are in close contact with children.
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I am 100% in alignment here. This is a significant pendulum shift... one that I would like to see moderated.
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