Grit Essay Examples

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.

First, examples of grit can be frequently found in daily personal life. My brother,

Michael, demonstrates remarkable grit. He is a dedicated runner who takes time out of his life almost every day to run at least three miles, pushing and testing himself to see if he can go farther, sprint faster. In the long run, his goal is making the varsity cross country team. He has set his eyes on that goal ever since he first joined cross country as a freshman, and now, as a sophomore, he has improved by so much. Michael knew that working up to the varsity team would make time and effort, and he used grit to make sure that he got what he wanted. Even after he badly sprained his ankle at the first meet, he didn’t give up hope. He rested and healed for a week and a half and then got right back up and worked harder than ever to make up for the unwanted break. As you can see, Michael has persevered with passion, and in doing so, his goal is closer to being achieved than ever.

Next, many characters in literary works commonly exhibit grit in numerous ways.

For example, in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, the main characters Harry, Ron, and Hermione show extraordinary grit when they search for Voldemort’s horcruxes. It took several years for them to find and destroy all seven of the heinous objects, but they knew that they needed to complete the task so they did. They persevered over many dangerous obstacles, and many mistakes and arguments, too. When the trio was hiding out in the woods, they were captured by Death Eaters and brought to the Malfoy Manor to call on Voldemort to finish the battle once, and for all. Harry, Ron, and Hermione could have given up then and let the struggle be over, but no. Together, they fought hard and managed to escape, eventually completing their ultimate goal of destroying Voldemort and saving the world from destruction and despair. In summary, Harry, Ron, and Hermione realized that failure was not a permanent condition, and are great examples of

grit.

Finally, grit can be found in various people and movements all around the globe and throughout history. A great example of this is Albert Einstein. Today, he is known as one of the greatest physicists to ever live. However, when he was growing up and in school, none of his teachers believed in him or thought that he would amount to anything. They thought him to be mentally handicapped, as he was unable to speak easily by age nine. Einstein was expelled from secondary school at the age of sixteen, failed the entrance examination for the Federal Institute of Technology, and was unable to go on to obtain the usual university assistantship due to the opposition of one of his professors. He did not let those obstacles stop him though. He had a love and fascination of the laws of nature, and was passionate about his education. In all, Einstein had a purpose and was determined for his education to be completed.

To conclude, grit is an important factor is success and life in general. The world would be empty and fervorless without it. Overall, grit in my life, the arts, and the world can be found in my brother, Michael, the fantasy series Harry Potter, and the physicist Albert Einstein. All of these people and things have the qualities and characteristics of success. Without passion to fuel motives, without drive, people would be ambitionless. Great, revolutionizing ideas can occur, but nothing would be done about it. Grit is the force that pushes people to greatness.