As I was working on this blog about grit and watching the post-game show after the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Tennessee Titans in the NFL divisional championships, Nick Foles, the Eagles quarterback, was being interviewed. When asked about the preparation and performance of the Eagles, he stated that it “goes back to believing and having faith in one another that we can get this done…preparation will give you an opportunity to win, but then your heart’s got to go out there and you’ve got to play with all your heart and give up everything you have”. What a great example of grit!
So, what is grit? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, one of the definitions of grit is firmness of mind or spirit: unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger. Dictionary.com defines grit as firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck. It has been reported that many children and young adults in today’s society are lacking grit; they have difficulty dealing with adversity, easily giving up when things get tough.
Although many people believe that success is dependent upon intelligence and talent, research has demonstrated that those characteristics do not necessarily translate to what is considered to be “successful” lives. In fact, there are many “successful” people who struggled through school due to learning difficulties or low socio-economic status, or who have even dropped out of school due to some type of adversity. Some of these people who became very successful in their later endeavors demonstrated skills other than intelligence and traditional talent. Dr. Angela Duckworth (author of the book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance) attributes this success to grit which she describes as “passion and perseverance to very long term goals”. Dr. Duckworth has been researching grit and how it affects a child’s ability to succeed in school, a young adult’s ability to succeed in their jobs, and for all people to succeed in their lives. She formulated two equations to demonstrate how to take talent and translate it to achievement:
talent X effort = skill
skill X effort = achievement
In these equations, effort equals grit.
An article by Bryan Goodwin and Kirsten Miller (Research Says Grit Plus Talent Equals Student Success) suggests that grit is a matter of characteristics including:
· Goal-directedness (knowing where to go and how to get there)
· Motivation (having a strong will to achieve identified goals)
· Self-control (avoiding distractions and focusing on the task at hand)
· Positive mind-set (embracing challenge and viewing failure as a learning opportunity)
LeeAnne, Theresa and I were fortunate to see Caroline Adams Miller (author of Getting Grit: The Evidence-Based Approach to Cultivating Passion, Perseverance, and Purpose) speak at a conference last spring. She presented and spoke about various types of grit:
· Authentic grit is the passionate pursuit of hard goals that awes and inspires others to become better people, flourish emotionally, take positive risks and live their best lives
· Stupid grit is the obstinate pursuit of a hard goals that presents more negatives than positives because the circumstances have changed
· Faux grit is embodied in people who pretend to themselves and others that they have achieved hard goals, but who have taken shortcuts or faked those accomplishments
· Selfie grit is the relentless celebration of your pursuit of hard goals, including triumph over challenging obstacles, real or imagined
· Ordinary grit is the willingness to persist in overcoming the challenges, setbacks and disappointments of everyday life to create extraordinary and empowering outcomes in unlikely circumstances
Do you feel your child needs grit? Look for my upcoming blog, How Do I Help My Child Become More “Gritty”?
Carol A. Walck, MS, CCC-SLP