Grit is a book by Angela Duckworth, a psychologist who studies the concept of success. In her book, she talks about grit, “a combination of passion and perseverance in the pursuit of a long term goal”. It is not irrational to accept the fact that inner capability does not guarantee success. Undoubtedly natural talent significantly lights one’s path, however, the fuel to the engine of triumph is tolerance, consistency, and hard work. It is also important to remember that enthusiasm does not do anything alone, but it is the willingness of devoting precious time and energy that makes people tackle the difficulties that are on the way. Duckworth mentions the study that was done on ivy league students that showed smarter students
In this article Emily Hanford is taking information from Angela Duckworth’s findings on the research of ‘grit’. Hanford quotes Angela Duckworth definition of ‘grit’ as , “‘sticking with things over the very long term until you master them.’” (qtd. in E. Hanford 1). Hanford also quotes Duckworth’s article to then explain that the, “‘ gritty individual approaches achievement as a marathon; his or her advantage is stamina.’” (qtd. in E. Hanford 1). Hanford is thus explaining that grit is like perseverance; that a person who works hard can achieve as much as a person who has intelligence. By explaining to students that achieving in school is not just intelligence but also grit as well, it can make students realize that if they persevere in their studies they can make achievements just as a person with more
“There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs,” was said by motivational speaker and American author Zig Ziglar. This relates to Carol S. Dweck’s article “Brainology” and Sherman Alexie’s essay “Superman and Me.” Ziglar, Dweck, and Alexie all feel that it isn’t easy for someone to become successful. It takes hard work, perseverance, and the want to learn and grow. In Dweck’s article, she stated that someone with a growth mindset would become more successful and knowledgeable than someone with a fixed mindset, which was demonstrated by Alexie in his essay, and by a personal experience of my own.
For example, “as Americans, we have quite a proud tradition of being represented by ignorant high-ranking officials.” Moore states students no longer have the information nor the skills needed in their libraries because of the budget cuts, despite that, “the ultimate irony in all of this is that the very politicians who refuse to fund education in America adequately are the same ones who go ballistic over how our kids have fallen behind the Germans, the Japanese, and just about every other country with running water and an economy not based on the sale of Chiclets.” Moore explains instead of helping the future of the United States and making school first, Americans are gaining knowledge that is useless to this society, such as facts about sports, he states, “Why on Earth am I retaining that useless fact? I don’t know, but after watching scores of guys waiting for the ESPN show, I think I do know something about intelligence and the American mind” nevertheless, they lack the information such as facts about own country. In addition, he mentions this nation has an obsession with testing, for example, resorting to testing and believe their problem would suddenly be fixed because of the test results improved. Although he claims Americans are obsessed with testing, he wants the, “so-called political leaders” to be tested the same way they test others in this
There are two types of people in this world. There are people like students who work diligently to achieve the highest grade possible, athletes who put in hours and hours of practice so they can make the starting team, young adults who climb the ladder to get to the top of their company, and many others doing whatever it takes to make their dreams and goals become a reality. There are also people in this world who do the bare minimum in order to graduate with a passing grade or to make a paycheck that is possible to live on. They are doing only “just enough” to make it another day. What is the difference between the two? Standardized tests, natural talent, and IQ rankings have been used in the past to determine how successful a person will be, but a new trait has come into play that ultimately determines how much a person achieves during their lifetime. Grit is the most important trait a person
Though he loses some tone and clarity at times, his message still comes across in all points being addressed. Poverty, specialization and mental health are among the most generally overlooked ideas about grit. Grit is often thought to only be positive and can be trained to others to be successful. When a particular task or action is not benefiting one anymore they need to decide what actually is the best for their well-being. Worth over persistence is a concept that needs to be weighed all throughout life and Kohn makes that a clear
important aspect in our lives. After reading the articles “Top 5 Reasons most people fail”, “The Truth about grit”, “5 Winners teach us how to learn from failure”, and “How failure makes us stronger”, it really showed me how important grit is in our lives and the lives of many. The Pursuit of Happyness is based on a true story about a man, Chris Gardner, who demonstrates many aspects of grit. I believe the three main aspects of grit is having the perseverance to keep going, taking action without hesitating, and keeping a positive mindset.
“Over time, grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness.”-John Ortberg this is a great quote that shows how grit is necessary in being successful in life. Grit is key to getting want you want and achieving dreams.
He names famous high school dropouts like Christina Aguilera, Kid Rock, L.L. Cool J., and Sammy Sosa. He goes on to say that because of these icons, motivation to attain good grades and education is mocked and ridiculed. Trying to drive home the point, he states another icon that wasn’t successful in school, George W. Bush, president of the United States at the time of this article. Penrod claims that Bush was a “C” student. Penrod is baffled that the things Bush said during his presidency were not brought to attention, and how it shows the level of importance that Americans have for intelligence. However, he doesn’t specify for how long Bush was a “C” student, there aren’t any statistics to back up this claim. He puts these examples here to show that celebrities are more known for their popularity and looks, other than their good grades in
Gladwell discusses a study done by Lewis Terman, a psychology professor at Stanford University. Based on IQ tests given to elementary school level students all around California, Terman selected the brightest students to track and analyze, These students were known as the “Termites.”
Do you have what it takes to be successful? Passion and perseverance, zeal and determination? Do you have grit? As Angela Lee Duckworth, an American psychologist, says, “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in and 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. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” From her extensive studies, one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. It wasn’t social intelligence, good looks, physical health, and or IQ: It was grit. To me, grit is a motivator. It keeps you going when times get tough, when mistakes are made, and when obstacles seem daunting. The idea and trait of grit can be connected to my life, the arts, and the world around me.
I have learned that success must be earned. Motivation is keyed in the success. Most people who are very successful (Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, Bernie Madoff, Etc.) are very motivated with their successful business. Angela Duckworth did a Ted Talk about grittiness and how it ties in with being passionate. I think that success also goes in with it. I agree that grittiness is almost identical with being passionate. Duckworth also mentions another thing about growth mindset, which was in Carol Dweck’s article “Brainology”. Growth mindset is a gateway to success is being open to doing new ideas. I think that all the sources that we have read or watched in this class have been connected to one of the other sources. Both Daniel Pink and Angela Duckworth
By capitalizing on your strengths, you shift your focus on what makes you good at a certain skill and can use these to further yourself in success. Following this lesson, the third idea presented introduces the idea that “It’s not about you.” When you first think about this, it appears contradictory. If we focus on making our own plan and mastering our strengths to achieve success, shouldn’t success be for an individual? While the notion does appear odd, the idea becomes more clear once explained. Your purpose on the Earth is to make a difference and to better the people around you. We achieve success by improving the chance of opportunity to others. While it first appears as though success is individual, it actually dives deeper. The fourth lesson presented “persistence trumps talent” is essential for college students. We might not be as good at our passions as another individual in our field who is born with the talent. However, through persistence, we achieve success because we focus more on what we want to do to make ourselves successful. The fifth idea is
In the early 1930s, James B. Conant, president of Harvard University, decided to develop a test for admissions, that was reliable way to measure student achievement without taking into consideration who the test taker was or what background they came from. According to Kevin Finneran, editor of Issues in Science & Technology, Conant believed that through administering the same test to all applicants for admission, factors such as family wealth, which private or elite academy the student may have attended, and any benefits their attendance would bring to the university would be removed from the decision making process. While his colleagues believe this would provide a real excuse for excluding those they did not particularly want entering Harvard, they were soon proved wrong as an increasing number of underprivileged students began scoring very high on tests and ultimately earning acceptance into the university.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Everything that you will accomplish will only come if you are persistent, dedicated, and hard working. Those qualities make up a person’s grit, which should be taught in college composition classes at Central Methodist University.
“Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do,” which serves as my personal motto as I find myself a very passionate person, always looking for the top. In addition, having experienced different kinds of adversity, I learned the value of not giving up. In fact, instead of giving up, I worked on prospective solutions to which I struggled with. In spite of this merit, striving for success is always a characteristic of mine.