Grit: an essential component in the psychology of success

Grit is a blend of passion and perseverance, and may be more important than talent.

Let's be honest, we all want to succeed in what we do.. There are plenty of books advising us how to do it. However, despite so much information out there... we are still looking for the perfect recipe that will allow us to get there as fast as possible and maybe without much effort. We obsess about getting the results, and focus little on the process. But to taste the sweet fruits of seeing our most important goals realized requires much more than intention and desire, it requires effort.

In this article, I want to share what I have read about the research of Angela Duckworth, a leading psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, on the psychology of success.

This researcher has interviewed leaders in business, sales, the arts, sports, journalism, medicine, the military, education and law to try to discover what makes them stand out in their profession, and although there are certainly particular characteristics in each field, specific qualities and advantages, she has found that passion and perseverance is what distinguishes the great achievers. He calls the combination of these two elements a "grit"..

What is grit? These are its components

The passion, more than intensity and something fleeting, refers to continue with our objectives with the passage of time. Having commitment and constant dedication to them, not changing interests so easily. It is having a clear and defined philosophy of life. Duckworth explains that it is having a primary goal that is an end in itself. This goal acts as a compass that guides our life and gives meaning to the other middle and lower level goals we set for ourselves to achieve. and gives meaning to the other middle and lower level goals we set for ourselves to achieve the higher goal.

When we lack grit, this may be partly because the goals we have set for ourselves at lower levels are not as consistent with our primary interest. We may want to achieve something, but when it comes down to it, we pursue goals that are unrelated and consequently take us further away from our objective.

On the other hand, perseverance is the tendency to not give up easily on goals when setbacks in the when there are setbacks along the way. It involves determination and willpower.

Talent is not as relevant as we think

In our culture, we tend to give too much importance to "innate" talent over effort, often assuming that, if we have little talent, this will not allow us to get very far. Duckworth believes that overvaluing talent can be detrimental because "we are because "we are conveying that other factors such as grit are not as important as they really are. If we think about it, we can see that talent is not enough to explain achievement.

A person can have talent and still waste it, not show it, not use it. On the other hand, talent does not necessarily guarantee that the person has the passion and perseverance to finish what he or she started, that he or she can keep going when the going gets tough. There are people who may think that the talent they have is enough and that it pays more not to make an effort to polish it and expand its limits. In addition, when we place too much emphasis on talent, we run the risk of excluding too early other people whose potential is also valuable. exclude too early other people whose potential is also valuable..

Duckworth points out that while talent is important, effort counts twice as much. However, when we see an athlete or anyone else who performs with great excellence and we are amazed, we tend to attribute it to that person possessing a natural and special gift. We tend not to see the sum of the daily acts; the training process, the dedication, the hours of effort, practice, experience and learning that have led to high performance.

Grit Development

The grit can be developed. Research has revealed four psychological qualities that people with grit have in common; interest, practice, purpose and hope.

1. Interest

Refers to working on what attracts and motivates us. Research has shown that people who have an occupation that matches their personal interests are generally happier with their lives, perform better, are more helpful to their peers, and keep their jobs longer.

However, passion is not something that is discovered suddenly, just like we tend to believe.as we tend to believe. It takes time and requires initially exploring various interests with a relaxed and fun attitude, without exerting too much pressure, because it is a stage of discovery. Once we discover new interests, we need to stimulate, cultivate and actively develop them over time.

Duckworth explains that "having an interest in something requires time and energy, but also a certain discipline and sacrifice". To develop our interests, it takes hard work, study, practice and effort. You can have a passion, but if you don't make an effort, you won't stand out or develop it. But it's also true that if you're not passionate or interested in what you do, it's going to be much harder to persevere at it.

In his research, Duckworth has also found that grit models, in addition to discovering something they like and developing that interest, learn to deepen it. They possess an enduring interestin which they continue to find novelty in what they do; there is always something more to learn and learn about within their activity. They do not jump from one project or activity to another completely different one, without opting for anything in particular.

2. Practice

Studies show that people with more grit are those who tend to persevere in something more than the rest. They dedicate more time to a task and that time is of higher quality. They aspire to improve and progress from a positive state of mind, which is not based on dissatisfaction. Anders Ericsson, a cognitive psychologist, has studied for a long time how experts in various professional fields acquire their exceptional skills, and he has found that it takes thousands and thousands of hours of deliberate practice over many years to acquire exceptional skills..

This type of practice consists of setting a clear, defined and challenging goal of self-improvement or self-improvement. It then requires absolute attention and a great deal of effort to try to achieve that goal. The practice should enable the person to to get immediate feedback and information about his or her progress in order to focus on his or her weaknesses. so that they can focus on their weaknesses and improve their skill level.

Finally, repetition and refinement of the skill is required, without forgetting rest periods. When the goal is achieved, the pursuit of another goal begins again. It is important to turn deliberate practice into a habit, establishing the same time and place to practice daily.

3. Purpose

It is the intention that what we do contributes to the well-being of others. Duckworth mentions that most people begin with an interest in something for pure pleasure, learn to practice it with discipline, and then come to see the meaning and purpose of what they are doing. In his studies he has found that, although pleasure has some importance in the lives of people with more grit, they are much more motivated than others. are much more motivated than the rest to seek a meaningful life centered on others.. Both an interest in something and a desire to connect with others are crucial for a passion to last.

Similarly, those who see their work as a vocation, rather than as an occupation or career, have more grit and are more satisfied with their work and life in general. Some recommendations for cultivating a sense of purpose entail thinking about how our work can contribute positively to others, and how we can change it, even if we can and how we can modify it, even in small ways, to match our core values and be more meaningful.

4. Hope

This is confidence in one's own ability and control to make things work out better in the future, based on one's own efforts. This is the type of hope of people with grit. It is not a hope, in which the responsibility for making things better falls on external forces such as the universe, or luck.

It is not about waiting for things to get better on their own. What leads to hopelessness is the suffering that we believe we cannot control. It is when we come to the conclusion that we can do nothing to change our situation.. In his studies, Duckworth has found that grit models interpret adversity with optimism. They attribute temporary causes to adversities, rather than permanent causes, as is the case with pessimistic people.

He has also found in both youth and adult studies that the grit goes hand in hand with a growth mindset. According to Carol Dweck, a professor at Stanford University, people with this type of mindset believe that intelligence, talents, skills, abilities, qualities and personality can be developed and cultivated through effort and that one can grow from discipline and experience. Therefore, they are people who tend to accept new challengesenjoy the learning process, persist in the face of obstacles, and achieve a high level of performance and accomplishment.

In summary...

People with grit are those who know what they want to achieve in life, because they have set themselves the task of discovering, developing and deepening their interests. They have learned to persevere in the face of obstacles and devote more quality time and deliberate practice to their interests, see meaning and purpose in their work (no matter what it is), and trust that through their own efforts things will get better.