📓Grit: Key Ideas, Notes and Summary

💪The Power of Passion and Perseverance | Wisdom Letter #181

Hey friend👋

Today we’re talking about the phenomenal book Grit by Angela Duckworth.

The book explores the trait of perseverance and passion for long-term goals.

Grit is the combination of perseverance and passion toward a goal.

Key ideas from the book:

• Grittier people achieve more in the face of challenges, setbacks, and plateaus.

• Effort and persistence, not just talent, drive achievement.

• Grit grows through a growth mindset and deliberate practice.

In addition, Duckworth argues that grit is essential not just for individual achievement and success, but also for societal progress.

When more people in society demonstrate grit, working towards long-term, meaningful goals, it benefits both individuals and society as a whole.

Ultimately, cultivating grit on an individual and societal level is key to unleashing human potential and creating a better future for all.

Let’s dive in 🚀

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What is Grit?

Grit = Passion + Perseverance.

Grit is the ability to stay focused and motivated, even when the going gets tough. It is the ability to keep pushing forward, even when the odds are stacked against you.

Grit is the determination to keep going, no matter what.

It is the ability to stay the course and never give up.

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Grit vs Talent

Success is determined more by perseverance and hard work ("grit") than by innate abilities ("talent").

While talent may give someone an initial advantage or head start, sustained effort and persistence in pursuing goals ("grit") are ultimately more significant drivers of achievement.

Talent alone is not enough to guarantee success; grit and determination are equally or even more important, as they are what enable people to push through challenges, setbacks, and plateaus to achieve their goals.

Talent may give you a head start, but it is grit that will help you reach your goals.

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Cultivating Grit

Contrary to popular belief, grit is not necessarily an innate trait that some people are born with and others are not.

Grit can be cultivated through deliberate practice, a growth mindset, and finding purpose and meaning in what you do.

A few strategies to cultivate grit:

1. Embracing a growth mindset that grit can be improved, rather than believing it is a fixed trait. (Read more about mindset here)

2. Commit to deliberate practice that pushes you outside your comfort zone and helps you strengthen your ability to persevere in the face of challenges.

3. Finding purpose and meaning in the goals or tasks you are pursuing, which provides internal motivation to sustain effort and persistence

4. View failures and setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow, rather than reasons to give up.

5. Recognizing that building grit requires ongoing hard work and a long-term commitment to goals, not a quick fix.

With time and practice, grit can be strengthened, enabling the achievement of more difficult goals.

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Deliberate Practice

Deliberate practice is a type of practice that is specifically designed to improve performance.

Deliberate practice is a structured activity designed to improve performance in a specific area. It involves setting specific goals, focusing on technique, and receiving feedback.

Just practice is simply repeating an activity without any specific goals or feedback.

It may help maintain a skill, but it won't necessarily lead to improvement.

Deliberate practice is often used by athletes, musicians, and other performers to hone their skills and reach their peak performance.

The core idea is to set goals for yourself that are challenging yet achievable.

Practicing your craft till meet those goals, and then setting new goals that take you to the next level.

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Favorite Quote from Grit

“..there are no shortcuts to excellence. Developing real expertise, and figuring out really hard problems, all take time―longer than most people imagine....you've got to apply those skills and produce goods or services that are valuable to people....Grit is about working on something you care about so much that you're willing to stay loyal to it...it's doing what you love, but not just falling in love―staying in love”

- Angela Duckworth, Grit

Further Reading

There are many more such insightful gems and ideas in the book.

Do check it out -

• Grit on Amazon

(*affiliate link)

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Thank you for reading.

Hope this post gave you a few ideas about the value of Grit in life.

Next week, we’ll be back with another power summary of a fantastic book.

So keep an eye out for next week’s email.

And if you missed our last power summary, do read it here -

• 📖 Mindset: Key Ideas, Notes, and Summary

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