Grit Themes

American psychologist Angela Duckworth’s book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance announces its main argument in its title. Most people wrongly assume that success depends on people’s inborn talents, but Duckworth argues that effort—specifically the combination of passion and perseverance that she calls grit—is actually far more important. Duckworth began to understand the importance of grit while working as a middle school teacher, management consultant, and youth nonprofit leader. Then, she became…

Even if talent is natural and unchangeable, Angela Duckworth argues, grit is learnable. This is excellent news for readers: since Duckworth believes that grit is the most important ingredient for success in most areas of life, she thinks that absolutely anyone can succeed if they learn to apply certain principles and techniques to their lives. As sociologist Dan Chambliss puts it, “greatness is many, many individual feats, and each of them is doable.” Specifically, Duckworth…

In her conclusion to Grit, Angela Duckworth addresses an unusual question: is it possible to have too much grit? Yes, she says, in theory. But in practice, nobody has ever told her they wanted to be less gritty (that is, less passionate and tenacious). Indeed, given the option, most people in modern societies would choose to become grittier. After all, this would help them set and achieve more meaningful goals. Because grit promotes…