Chapter 11 Lucy, at four years, was a big fan of raisins. The author, one day observed her seated on the kitchen table as she struggled to open the small box of raisins (Duckworth, p 261). Although Lucy was hungry, the box resisted her efforts, and he had no option but to wander off. When her mother, who was watching from another room, saw that, she rushed to encourage her to try again, but she adamantly refused (Duckworth, p 261). After, the author found a ballet studio around the corner of their house and signed her up. She advises parents to find games, musical instruments, or activities that their children may enjoy doing outside of class and sign them up when they are old enough (Duckworth, p 263). The author recommends that they stick to one extra curriculum activity for more than a year (Duckworth, p 263). This is because children grow when they spend some of their time engaging in hard things that excite them. Grit by Angela Duckworth
Studies show that when asked to report what they are doing and how they feel about it, they noted that they felt challenged and unmotivated when in class (Duckworth, p 263). However, they noted that hanging out with friends was not challenging but super fun. Interestingly, the children reported experiencing being a bit challenged and, at the same time, finding it fun when playing sports, musical instruments, or rehearsing for a school play (Duckworth, p 263). According to the author, there is no better feeling in children’s lives than experiencing a combination of being challenged and having fun. Research studies show that children who engage in extra curriculum activities perform better in all ways, including better grades and higher self-esteem than those who do not. Read more
If any extra curriculum activity that takes months to accomplish has such benefits, how much more is Grit, which takes years instead of months? A research study investigating the aftermath of children who participated in extracurricular activities for more than a year was conducted. The study found that the number of hours spent on kids who participated in extra curriculum activities for more than two years predicted having a job and earning more money than those who did not (Duckworth, p 263). In other words, individuals participating in extra-curriculum activities for more than two years succeeded in life compared to those who did not.
The author carried out a study to determine the reason behind the high dropout rate for college students between second and fourth-year in the United States (Duckworth, p 269). The findings were recorded in a Grit Scale. The author found that the country’s high rate of dropout was associated with three factors; inadequate academic preparation, escalating tuitions, and the byzantine labyrinth of financial aid (Duckworth, p 269). Although it is difficult to predict who will persist through college life and who will not, the author noted that following through something hard in high school is the best preparation for managing through later in life (Duckworth, p 269). This is true as back in the days when Bill Gates was in charge of hiring software programmers at Microsoft, he gave applicants a programming task that he knew was tedious and required more hours (Duckworth, p 270). He only hired those who finished the test. In other words, Bill used the test to assess the applicants’ ability to muscle through difficult things later in life.
Chapter 12
Super Bowl XLVI- II is the first-ever football match that the author watched from beginning to end back on February 2, 2014 (Duckworth, p 284). The Seattle Seahawks team was playing against the Denver Broncos, and the former won 43-8. The following day, the Seattle Seahawks team’s coach Pete Carroll appeared on an interview to talk about the team’s big win. He said that the team was not held back by any hurdles, challenges, or hard things. Additionally, the team’s win could also be attributed to the Grit. This is because the team’s head coach had expressed interest in learning about Grit from Duckworth nine months before the game (Duckworth, p 286). He added that all he did is teach players how to persevere and unleash their passion (Duckworth, p 286).
Grit is defined as the passion for accomplishing a particular goal with the inner strength or perseverance to follow through. The team operates on a culture stating that if you desire to be grittier, find a gritty culture, and be part of it (Duckworth, p 286). Similarly, the author states that if one desires to become a great swimmer, joining a great swimming team is inevitable (Duckworth, p 287). Duckworth notes that there are two different ways of getting Grit; the easy way and the hard way. The hard way involves doing something by oneself, and the easy way is using conformity (Duckworth, p 289). Conformity means that human beings tend to learn Grit by being near gritty people. The author also notes that culture and identity are two of the most important factors to consider when trying to understand how gritty people live their lives (Duckworth, p 292). The dividends of Grit may take years, but sure enough, they pay off eventually.
There are two lessons to learn from Grit. First, it helps an individual to think of himself as one who can overcome all manner of adversities (Duckworth, p 295). Secondly, it helps individuals to keep on even in the darkest moments and manage to still keep one foot in front of the other (Duckworth, p 295). The author notes that culture can be created in much shorter time frames, but it is challenging to instill Grit in people (Duckworth, p 298). Ideally, Grit is all about finishing strong, and finishing strong means consistently focusing on the goal and doing the very best in every moment from start to finish (Duckworth, p 311).