Grit by Angela Duckworth

2024-02-03 2 min read Sincheenz

The book is divided into 2 parts. In the first part, the author explains how excellence and genius can be achieved through Grit. How we as a society are so obsessed with the naturals and geniuses with high IQs, and we give too little importance to the efforts put into achieving excellence. What good is talent when you don’t put it to use, and yet when we hear of naturals, we get excited? Talent is necessary, but it is not the only thing that defines success. Dr. Duckworth summarizes this with a simple formula – Talent x Effort = Skill, Skill x Effort = Excellence. But it is not just perseverance; she defines Grit as something that you do repeatedly and improve progressively since you like it and find a purpose in it.

The second part of the book concentrates on how to develop Grit. How, as demanding and supportive parents, you can foster grit in your children or youngsters around you. How being part of a community with people with similar interests can help you get grittier. When everyone around you is waking up at 5 am and going for a swim, it doesn’t seem like a big deal anymore. She also discusses how pursuing extracurricular activities for over 2 years has helped students and youngsters quit less. The parts about learned helplessness and learned success were also very interesting to read. A very interesting read overall.