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Forget talent, grit is the secret sauce to success

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Cadets at the United States Military Academy undergo rigorous training. Some make it, others drop out. Is it possible to know which cadets are better equipped to manage this grueling schedule?

Yes, says psychologist Angela Duckworth in her book “ Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance”. She says it is not the SAT scores or athletic ability that determine this, but the “grit score”. She uses scientific research and personal anecdotes to uncover the fundamental idea of grit as a combination of persistence and passion that can help one achieve long-term success and achievement.

How does this translate to success in careers? A person with grit is able to hold on and continue to work under pressure.



Duckworth gives examples where talent and hardwork are both visible in abundance. After studying contestants in the Spelling Bee contest, she says success does not come just due to talent but it also needs hours of focused and deliberate practice and sheer grit.

This helped her develop the “grit scale” to look at traits like consistency of interests and perseverance when it comes to applying their efforts. More people can overcome setbacks as they try to move towards a critical goal or challenge, the higher they display the levels of grit.

As a parallel, this is true in our careers as well. Having a clear goal and ensuring we are able to keep striving for it despite setbacks is an important everyday lesson.

Careers lessons for inspiration

How does this actually play in day-to-day choices we make to stay true to our goals, with grit?


One learning is around choice. She refers to Warren Buffets’ 5/25 rule which involves top 25 career goals and then devoting ourselves to just top 5 so that we can focus and concentrate our energy on what truly matters to us. This focus is a key determinant of long-term success.


Another aspect which comes after focus is what she calls the hard thing rule — which means staying with our goal through dedicated practice, even if it seems really hard. For example, say our choice is to become a top musician. That’s our focus. And we start our journey of practice but we find the daily rigour of practice incredibly hard. Her advice is to keep at it during this phase.

Another related aspect she highlights through the example of a sports coach is that rather than focusing on just innate talent, it is important to keep improving. We had earlier highlighted the idea of a growth mindset and this speaks to that same concept.

Our careers span 40+ years. That is a long time. Ensuring the right focus, enabling our efforts with perseverance and driving towards a growth mindset can be our compelling toolkit to make the years work better for us.

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