The Key to Success: Grit

The people who are the most successful, according to Angela Lee Duckworth — possess grit: passion and perseverance for long-term goals, day in and day out, and working really hard to make your vision of your future a reality.  To learn more, you can view Angela Lee Duckworth’s Ted Talk here, which is also shown below.

The most successful people are those who have failed again and again, but found a way to get up, learn, and improve.  The lesson: grit pays off in the long run to achieving one’s goals and dreams.

When someone is successful, it often looks easy and it appears that the success happened over night to an outsider.  However, in these instances, there are typically years of hard work, dedication, and perseverance despite setbacks and failures at the heels of one’s success.  The grit occurs behind the scenes, and the grit is vital to one’s success.  The lesson is not to give up despite setbacks and failures, even while navigating uncharted territory.

I began reading Rising Strong by Brene Brown this weekend.  One of my favorites quotes from her new book states, “The truth is that falling hurts.  The dare is to keep being brave and feel your way through it.” 

Additionally, to learn more about grit and the unexpected gifts of failure in relation to children, see Jessica Lahey’s new book entitled, The Gifts of Failure.