Grit: Sticking With it for the Long Haul

​I’ve spent a significant portion of this year writing about resilience, given that life is difficult. In my reading, I’ve also had the fortune to come across a very specific kind of resilience – GRIT. This is a concept that has come out of the work by Angela Duckworth. She has long been interested in that human characteristic that you find in certain people who display “passion and sustained persistence applied toward long-term achievement, with no particular concern for rewards or recognition along the way.” It seems to be a combination of resilience, ambition and self-discipline applied to goals whose achievement may take years and even decades.
I have seen GRIT described in an acronym: Guts, Resilience, Initiative and Tenacity, and that describes it well. It appears that there is a strong connection between Grit and a growth mindset. Children who see achievement as being the result of the acquisition of skill over time rather than as a function of innate talent, and who apply themselves to continuous improvement seem to become gritty adults. In this video, Angela Duckworth explains grit.

My work with clients always begins with an in-depth exploration of their growth and development journey from childhood until now, with a particular interest in the life lessons that have moulded them. I have noticed that many adults do not seem to have been particularly gritty as children, having tried and given up a lot of stuff (sports, hobbies, etc.) only to become really gritty adults who commit themselves to the long-term pursuit of some very challenging objectives. It seems that the key that unlocks their grittiness is finding their purpose or passion. That sounds very grand, and perhaps it’s not that grand at all. I think it is about finding something they love – where the process of pursuing the goal has meaning in itself.

Love him or loath him, I think Elon Musk is a great example of someone with grit. In all of his businesses, he has set huge, worthwhile, long-term goals. Consider the following:

1. He loves solving big problems that affect the planet or humanity. Consider these visions or missions of his companies:
   1. Tesla mission: “to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” 
      Tesla vision: “to create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles.” 
      
   2. The Boring Company: “Build a large network of fast-to-dig, low-cost tunnels to help alleviate congestion and enable rapid transit across densely populated regions.”
      
   3. SpaceX: “Revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.”
      
   4. Neuralink: “We are creating the future of brain interfaces: building devices now that will help people with paralysis and inventing new technologies that will expand our abilities, our community, and our world.”
      
   5. OpenAI: “to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI)—by which we mean highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work—benefits all of humanity.”
2. He’s not afraid to fail and is not remotely reluctant to talk about it. He and his team pay attention to their failures and make sure that they learn from them. He talks about the many mistakes he’s made and the many things he has got wrong in pursuit of his goals.
3. He changes his mind when evidence shows that he was wrong, and includes new knowledge as it becomes available.
4. He is interested in what others think and he seeks opinions and input from other people. Although he’s famous for not suffering fools!
5. He celebrates small wins with his teams and talks about evidence that they are on the right path – seeking and finding that evidence builds confidence, which is an important component of Grit.
6. He gets stuck in and helps when big problems need solving and seems to enjoy the problem-solving process. He never asks “can this problem be solved?” Instead he asks “How can we solve this problem?” The big difference between the two is that the second question assumes that there must be a solution. That’s an important distinction.
7. He works really hard! He is continually moving forward in the direction of the vision – never getting complacent or resting on laurels;. never getting comfortable with where things are, and always pushing on into the next area of discomfort or the next thing to be done.

It seems to me that Gritty people have the following characteristics in common:

1. They work tirelessly towards big goals that matter;
2. They fail forward and learn fast from their mistakes;
3. They seek evidence that they are moving in the right direction, and change course if they are not;
4. They invite input and take feedback;
5. They seem to enjoy/value the process, rather than being motivated only by the destination.

​Are you gritty? Have you stuck with a big, long-term goal or purpose for a long time, or do you chop and change or find yourself getting discouraged? If so, it could be that you have not found a compelling sense of purpose that keeps you engaged. Or perhaps you are not as self-disciplined as you need to be. If this is you, email me at [email protected] and we can discuss your coaching.