GRIT: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Updated: Aug 11, 2020
By Andrea Seydel Live Life Happy Unconventional Bookclub
INTRODUCTION
You have heard the word GENIUS used. "Your son is a genus" or You have also heard people say "Your so talented"
Angela Duckworth celebrated researcher and professor of psychology, shows us the secret about outstanding achievement... and Ill give you a clue... it has nothing to do with TALENT and GENIUS!! This book teaches us that life's high peaks aren't necessarily conquered by the naturally nimble, talented and smart... but rather by those willing to endure wait out the storm and try again.
Get ready to learn the power of grit to help you achieve your potential. You'll discover what we accomplish in our lives depends tremendously on our grit- which is our passion and perseverance for long term goals!
Passion and perseverance matter: Are you ready to discover how to cultivate these important qualities. I'm convinced that these qualities will help us when we are striving for excellence.
WHAT GRIT IS AND WHY IT MATTERS
QUESTION?
Who are the people at the very top of your field? What are they like? What do you think makes them special? (Determination, resilient, hard working, direction, know what they want)
High achievers have Grit. Determination and direction. GRIT is passion and perseverance Talent is not guarantee of grit. Our potential is one thing. What we do with it is quite another.
DISTRACTED BY TALENT
Talent is not all there is to achievement. Aptitude does not guarantee achievement.
Ability in combination with exceptional zeal and the capacity for hard work makes the important difference. Talent isn't a bad thing and we are not equally talented. It simply allows us to quickly climb the learning curve. IT's bad to favour naturals over strivers. We inadvertently send the message that these other factors including grit don't matter as much as they really do.
We have a "naturalness bias" which becomes a hidden prejudice against those who've achieved what they have because they worked for it and the hidden bias that they arrived at their place in life because they're naturally talented. EASY. "They're a natural".. Eg. They are so naturally talented at gymnastic.. what they didn't see was my 30 hours a week of training. I loved it and practiced and worked hard.
EFFORT COUNTS TWICE
If we over emphasize talents we underemphasize everything else. We have an unconscious bias towards talent. Without effort your talent is unmet potential. Without effort, your skill is nothing more than what you could have done but didn't.
Talent + EFFORT= skill
Skill + EFFORT= achievement
HOW GRITTY ARE YOU?
Grit isn't about just working really hard. That is only part of grit. There are no short cuts to excellence. No short cuts to expertise, to figuring out really hard problems- It all takes time.
GRIT Scale
Grit is about working on something you care about so much that you're willing to stay loyal to it. It's about doing what you love, but not just falling in love- it's STAYING IN LOVE. Adopt a philosophy (prove what's possible)
It's important to have clear, well defined philosophy to give you guidelines and boundaries that keep you on track and going.HOLD TOP LEVEL GOALS FOR A VERY LONG TIME!! Adjust mid level goals and low level goals.. IMPROVISE, ADAPT, OVERCOME! All goals should feed the top level goal!
Goal Hierarchy
GRIT GROWS
Traits like honesty and generosity and YES GRIT are genetically influenced. But also influenced by experience. If you are not as gritty as you like to be ASK YOUR SELF... WHY AM I NOT AS GRITTY AS I'D LIKE TO BE? Lazy, bored, not important, discouraged, lack interest. You either have it or you don't thinking. GIVE UP
1. Interest- passion grows enjoyment. 2. Practice- Daily discipline Do things better than yesterday. Desire to improve. 3. Purpose- conviction that your work matters. 4. Hope- rise to the occasion
Unconventional Bookclub with "Book Doula" Andrea Seydel
Live Life Happy Podcast with Andrea Seydel
GROWING GRIT FROM THE INSIDE OUT
INTEREST
What do you enjoy doing most in life? What drives you? Try to do it full time. Life is short follow your passion. "Im so lucky, I l love what I do." I can't wait to read my next book. I get excited to meet my clients to write books with them. We perform better when we follow our passion.
Ask your self: Where does you mind wander? What do i really care about? What matters most to me? How do I enjoy spending my time? What do I find absolutely unbearable.
PRACTICE
It's a persistent desire to do better. Spend more time on task and better time on task. There are no gains without pains. Challenge yourself. Stretch goal. full concentration and effort. Immediate feedback. repetitive and refinement. Make it a habit.
Ask yourself: Is it working? Should I get extra practice? What would change if I had to? Try to get into flow state. Perform a high level Challenge, and yet feeling effortless. Deliberate practice is for preparation and flow is for performance.,
PURPOSE
Interest is one source of passion... Purpose is the other. Purpose Is the intention to contribute to the well-being of others. Wake up every morning with a sense of purpose.
to help people learn and grow. to turn knowledge into action. to deepen their life experience and spread happiness. I do this through bookclubs, publishing, and coaching.
What do you do for society? What have you done that meant something. (help Someya make her dreams come true of being a published author when she thought it would be imposslble, her book changes lives) How is your top level goal PURPOSEFUL?
HOPE
THe expectation that tomorrow will be better than today. Grit depends on the expectation that our own efforts can improve our future. A different kind of hope.
I have a feeling tomorrow will be better is different than... I RESOLVE TO MAKE TOMORROW BETTER. Growth mindset around learning, getting better in the process. Adopt a growth mindset.
Growth mindset- optimistic self-talk- perseverance over adversity.
GROWING GRIT FROM THE OUTSIDE IN
What can we do to encourage grit in the people we care for?
Wise Parenting is combination Supportive and Demanding. Growing up with support, respect, and high standards offers benefits such as GRIT. Wise parenting encourage children to emulate their parents. Children's desire to copy adults is very strong.
"I'm giving you these comments because I have high expectations and i know that you can reach them."Praise process and effort not talent.
Reward hard work and if you don't work hard you won't be rewarded. For people that want to encourage grit without changing the unique path of the individual, Challenge them with a HARD THING RULE.
HARD THING RULE: everyone included parents has to do a hard thing. It requires daily deliberate practice. Choose something that is hard. You can quit, but you can't quit until the season is over, the tuition is up, the time is out, or the natural stopping has arrived. You get to pick your own hard thing. WHAT IS YOUR HARD THING? (prove what's possible with book promotions/marketing)
CONCLUSION
We learned the power of grit will help us achieve your potential. My main take away is that we can grow our grit.
On our own, we can grow grit from the "inside out"- We can cultivate our interests. We can develop a habit of daily challenge-exceeding-skill practice. We can connect our work to a purpose beyond ourselves. And we can learn to hope when all seems loss. We can grow our grit from the "outside in"- Parents, coaches, teachers, bosses, mentors, friends can contribute to developing personal grit.
Also, Happiness and success are related, they're not identical. Talent and genius don't necessarily lead to success, it is Deliberate practice that prevails.
THIS BOOK Grit offers a truly sane perspective: that true success comes when we devote ourselves to endeavours that give us joy and purpose. This book teaches us to be more motivated, more passionate, and more persistent at work and at school.