PDF Summary:Grit, by Angela Duckworth

Many successful leaders and businesspeople are lauded as “great geniuses,” but psychologist Angela Duckworth argues that talent and intelligence matter less to success than grit: the personality trait behind perseverance, hard work, and goal-setting. In Grit, she explores what grit is, where it comes from, how it drives success, and how you can develop it.

Duckworth is primarily interested in how to raise gritty kids, and her insights have inspired parents and educators around the globe since the book’s publication in 2016. However, she believes that adults, too, can develop grit, and she lays out specific, measurable ways to do so.

Her work has fueled debates about which matters more—talent or effort. In this guide, we examine these controversies and consider insights from other psychologists who either support Duckworth’s ideas or reveal nuances of them.

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• It’s service-oriented, aimed at helping others.

The Four Stages of Grit

Duckworth identifies and explores four psychological assets that lead to grit, and she thinks of them as four stages:

• Interest
• Practice
• Purpose
• Hope

Duckworth argues that these stages build upon each other. Interest is the first stage—without an interest in a skill or subject, a person won’t start down the path to mastery. Practice is the next stage—practice takes over once interest has evolved from playful exploration into something more deliberate. Purpose comes next, after a person has achieved a certain level of mastery and can begin to look outward to figure out how their skill can benefit others. Hope, Duckworth argues, is not a final, separate stage, but rather, is a stage that accompanies the other three all the way through, because it fuels the other stages with a feeling of optimism and empowerment.

Additional Elements of Grit

Other psychologists studying grit have suggested additional psychological assets that make up a gritty mindset. Some have noted that a gritty attitude takes courage—the ability to triumph over fear. Others add ambition to the list, noting that ambition in this context doesn’t mean a desire for superiority but rather, a desire for excellence. Quite a few psychologists mention resilience—the ability to bounce back from failures.

Duckworth doesn’t address these items as separate elements of grit, but we can see how they relate to some of the elements she does define. For example, courage, ambition, and a desire for excellence might be products of a sense of purpose. A desire for excellence might also drive the motivation to practice, and be driven itself by interest. Resilience is implied in Duckworth’s concept of hope.

Overall, Duckworth’s theory outlines a basic understanding of how grit develops, and it serves as a jumping-off point—a framework—for identifying other qualities that also drive a person to master a skill.

Stage 1: Interest

Duckworth contends that grit starts with interest because interest is the seed of passion—a well-developed interest leads to a long-term commitment to a goal. Consistently, Duckworth observes that gritty people love what they do and they’re overjoyed to do it. They pursue projects not because they’re forced to or because they feel obliged to, but because they want to.

(Shortform note: For this reason, some psychologists contend that schools that try to teach grit focus too much on the persistence piece of it, and should instead focus on fostering interest, as interest is the foundation for perseverance over time. They argue that success is less dependent on a mere stick-to-it attitude and is more influenced by a person's intrinsic motivation—fueled by interest—and it’s the intrinsic motivation that creates a stick-to-it attitude.)

Duckworth notes that most people don’t find meaningful interests early in life, and they don’t simply find something and fall in love with the idea and have a solid direction from then on. Instead, people find their interests by trying out different fields and activities, choosing one to focus on, and then becoming more and more involved with it.

(Shortform note: In her book The Defining Decade, psychologist Meg Jay says active experimentation is part of having a productive identity crisis—a process of figuring out who you are and what you should do with your life. She notes that most people think of identity crises as periods of intense reflection, and while she acknowledges that reflection is an essential part of an identity crisis, she argues that the truly useful part is not mere thinking, but active doing. It’s only through doing, she says, that you can truly figure out what you like and what type of life you’re attracted to.)

Stage 2: Practice

Duckworth notes that while hard work is crucial to success, it doesn’t guarantee it. The type of hard work is essential. Sometimes, a person might devote countless hours to a pursuit but never rise above a middling mastery of it. She argues that this kind of arrested development can happen if a person doesn’t engage in deliberate practice: a structured, purposeful, and disciplined way to direct your efforts so that they produce real results.

She contends that the key to deliberate practice is not just repeatedly doing the same actions, but to strive to get better each time you do it. This, she says, is the hallmark of successful people: a desire to improve on their existing expertise.

(Shortform note: Duckworth credits psychologist Anders Ericsson with the development of the theory of deliberate practice. The theory has attracted much debate, as Ericsson emphatically believes that deliberate practice accounts for the vast majority of a person's success, while natural talent only plays a small role. Critics note there are many exceptions to this rule, where a person gains mastery of a skill far sooner than others who put in more effort. Ericsson responds that in those cases, the people putting in more effort may not have put in the correct type of effort—specifically, deliberate practice. The debate on how much talent counts for or against effort continues.)

How to Practice Deliberately

To properly engage in deliberate practice, Duckworth recommends the following process:

• Set a stretch goal: Focus on a specific, narrow aspect of your larger goal that you want to improve. (Shortform note: Researchers point out in the Harvard Business Review that stretch goals are motivating—when it comes to teamwork, people find challenging goals more appealing and perceive them as more attainable than lesser goals.)
• Give that goal undivided attention: Concentrate and focus on reaching that goal. Practice in solitude, without the assistance of other people. (Shortform note: Cal Newport advises scheduling regular, uninterrupted time to accomplish intensely focused work, which he calls Deep Work. Then you must use that time productively by measuring your progress and holding yourself accountable.)
• Seek feedback: Ask for advice or have someone evaluate how you’re doing. Be more interested in what you did wrong than what you did right.
• Reflect on that feedback: Ask yourself what the feedback is telling you—what are you doing correctly? What are you doing wrong?
• Continue to give your stretch goal undivided attention until you’ve hit it.
• Set a new stretch goal.

(Shortform note: Many psychologists emphasize the importance of feedback to this process. In Thanks for the Feedback, Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen argue that people can only achieve success by accepting and incorporating other peoples’ criticisms and direction. They note that feedback can be hard to hear, and we all have emotional triggers that compel us to ignore feedback we don’t like, but by becoming aware of these triggers (which are typically centered around the perceived truthfulness of feedback, the relationship we have to the feedback giver, or how the feedback reflects on our identity), we can prevent our emotions from blocking helpful advice.)

Stage 3: Purpose

The next stage of grit Duckworth examines is purpose, which she defines as a desire to increase the well-being of others. Along with interest, purpose is essential to passion because purpose enables interests to survive over long periods. Passion may start with interest, but it survives with purpose.

Purpose corresponds to the “high-level goals” Duckworth discusses in her earlier exploration of passion. These are the goals at the very top, for which you can’t provide an answer to the question “Why?” What makes these high-level goals special—what makes them a purpose—is that they have a focus other than self-interest. When Duckworth probes a gritty person about their high-level goals, they inevitably mention other people, either in specifics (like their children or customers) or through an abstract concept (like society, country, or science).

(Shortform note: Having a purpose is important not only for professional success but also for personal happiness. In his book The 12 Rules for Life, Jordan Peterson suggests that if you are upset because you want something you can’t have, ask yourself why you want that thing and why you feel that way, and continue asking until you’ve arrived at the core desire that’s driving your discontent. When you have consciously identified your highest “why,” your purpose, you can align your thoughts and behaviors with it, and will be able to find happiness.)

Stage 4: Hope

The fourth stage of grit that Duckworth identifies is hope. Duckworth defines hope as the belief that you have the power to improve things.

Duckworth notes that this is a different kind of hope than the hope that says “tomorrow will be better.” Hoping for a better tomorrow is hoping for luck. That type of hope doesn’t sustain grit because it depends on external factors.

In contrast, the hope that sustains grit is an optimism that you yourself can make tomorrow better. This hope—an enduring belief that you can eventually achieve your goals—sustains passion over long periods of time.

(Shortform note: Many psychologists have noted how important hope is in sustaining progress toward goals because it can propel you past the negative feedback that a setback gives you. When a setback signals you to stop by telling you what’s not working, hope can be what encourages you to keep going by promising what might work. Psychologists emphasize that hope is not a denial of reality—it’s not about ignoring or dismissing challenges, but rather, accepting the hard work needed to move past those challenges, and believing that the hard work will pay off.)

How to Parent for Grit

Duckworth argues that the best parenting method for fostering grit in children combines disciplined guidance with emotional support. She calls this wise parenting. It’s neither overly strict nor indulgent. It makes children feel that even when their parents are demanding, they have their best interest in mind. Children raised by wise parents have fewer social and emotional problems as adults and have healthier lifestyles (less drugs or alcohol).

(Shortform note: A leader of an organization can “parent” wisely too. When leaders convey to their team members that they believe in their capabilities, have high expectations, and want to help them improve, those team members end up more motivated and committed to the organization.)

Extracurriculars Encourage Grit

Duckworth points to numerous studies showing that children who participate in extracurriculars do better on almost every metric: grades, self-esteem, behavior, and so on. Further, these benefits last across many years—committing to an extracurricular has a positive correlation with graduation rate, employment, and salary.

Duckworth theorizes that extracurriculars are strongly correlated with positive achievement rates later in life because they offer kids a way to practice grit. And, as with any skill, the more practice the kids get at it, the more grit takes hold. This explains her observation that the long-term benefits of extracurriculars only exist among kids who commit to them for more than a year, and are more strongly correlated with kids who also achieve some kind of measurable advancement in the activity (for example, those making the varsity team or are appointed editor of the school newspaper). Kids who stick with extracurriculars for multiple years are simply getting more dedicated grit-practice.

Extracurriculars in History

Duckworth’s admiration for extracurriculars is part of a long cultural tradition—both parents and teachers have long been aware of the character-building potential of participating in sports and clubs. Psychologists started seriously examining these effects in the 1930s, positing three reasons to explain the correlation between extracurricular participation and higher grades:

• Through organized games, students learn how to follow instructions—how to listen to them and apply them toward a desired outcome.

• Students learn how to set goals and solve problems.

• Students learn the importance of both motivation and persistence.

This last point in particular corresponds to Duckworth’s point that kids participating in extracurriculars are both interested and challenged—terms that mirror motivation and persistence.

Measuring Grit: The Grit Test

How do you measure grit? Duckworth quantifies grit through a self-assessment that she developed. You can take it yourself and see how much grit you have.

(Shortform note: The book covers only 10 items, but the quiz we’re including below is an adaptation of the original 12-item Grit Scale from Duckworth’s landmark 2007 study. You can find this test, and a shorter, eight-question version, on her website.)

For each statement, answer:

• Not at all like me
• Not much like me
• Somewhat like me
• Mostly like me
• Very much like me

The 12 statements:

1. I have achieved a goal that took years of work.
2. I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge.
3. I finish whatever I begin.
4. Setbacks don’t discourage me.
5. I am a hard worker.
6. I am diligent.
7. I often set a goal but later choose to pursue a different one.
8. New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones.
9. I become interested in new pursuits every few months.
10. My interests change from year to year.
11. I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest.
12. I have difficulty maintaining my focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete.

For the first six questions, score your choices as:

• Not at all like me = 1
• Not much like me = 2
• Somewhat like me = 3
• Mostly like me = 4
• Very much like me = 5

For the second six questions, score your choices as:

• Not at all like me = 5
• Not much like me = 4
• Somewhat like me = 3
• Mostly like me = 2
• Very much like me = 1

Now add up your score—there’s a possible total of 60. Then divide that by 10. The higher your score, then the more grit you have.

Here are the approximate percentiles of grit across the population:

• The 10th percentile, or well below average, has a grit score of 3.0.
• The 50th percentile, or average, has a grit score of 4.6.
• The 80th percentile, or above average, has a grit score of 5.2
• The 99th percentile, or the very top, has a grit score of 5.9

Duckworth developed this test to measure both perseverance and passion. The first six questions deal with perseverance—your ability to persist through obstacles. The second questions deal with passion—how consistently you maintain your interests over time.

Duckworth notes that many people score higher in perseverance than in passion. It seems to be easier for most people to work hard than to maintain a consistent focus. It’s easy to get attracted to a new idea. It’s hard to maintain that passion over a consistent period of time without giving up.

Critiques of Duckworth’s Grit Test

A number of psychologists have critiqued Duckworth’s test. One criticism notes that the way she frames the questions affects the answers—in order to score high, a respondent must answer the perseverance questions in the affirmative but the passion questions in the negative. For example, for “I am diligent,” they would have to respond, “Very much like me,” but for “My interests change from year to year,” they would have to respond, “Not at all like me.” Studies that adjusted the questions so that all questions required an affirmative answer for the high score returned very different results, suggesting that Duckworth’s data was based on faulty methodology that didn’t actually capture her subjects’ mindsets accurately.

Another criticism argues that even though Duckworth sets out to measure both perseverance and passion, she really only measures perseverance. Duckworth herself has expressed regret at not including questions that better examined a person’s long-term goals and acknowledged that the test correlates more strongly with traits of conscientiousness than passion.

A third line of criticism objects to the inclusion of passion-focused questions at all. This argument claims that subsequent research has revealed a strong correlation between perseverance and success but no such correlation between passion and success. In fact, some studies suggest that a single-minded focus on an unchanging goal corresponds with lower rates of success, possibly because people in this mindset have trouble recognizing when it’s time to change direction.

Critics in this camp note that as long as a person isn’t constantly changing her mind, there doesn’t seem to be an advantage in sticking with a goal indefinitely. And it’s worth remembering that Duckworth herself changed careers twice—she started out in management consulting, then moved to teaching high school math, and then went into psychology.