True Grit: Why Passion and Resilience Beat Talent

• set specific goals and measure the results
• focus on your weakest areas, which you can improve upon
• get feedback from others and invite constructive criticism

To master a skill: repeat, refine, repeat...

Drawing Inspiration

Cartoonist Syd Hoff is a great example of this philosophy. The New York Times rejected him 2,000 times before publishing his work. For Hoff, a love of drawing helped him overcome each setback. Eventually the cartoonist found his own style and good material from life experience to help him get published.

But what if you haven’t found your dream job? Just look at gold medallist swimmer Rowdy Gaines. He tried out football, baseball, basketball, golf and tennis – in that order – before hitting the pool. [6]

As Duckworth says, "Remember that interests must be triggered again and again and again. Find ways to make that happen. And have patience. The development of interests takes time." [7]

How to Keep Work Interesting

To stay interested in the world of work, you can:

• Find a mentor with new skills, passions and expertise to absorb. It’s no surprise 71% of Fortune 500 companies have formal mentorship programs. [8]
• Stay curious and keep learning. Studies show losing yourself in a good book boosts brain connectivity and improves cognitive function. [9]
• Find new approaches to old problems. John Hopkins University researchers found that varying training styles engages your brain to learn new skills in half the time. [10]

Shortcut a ‘Calling’

You don’t have to look for passion in the office, either. Duckworth finds that "the most gritty people see their ultimate aims as deeply connected to the world outside themselves". [11] Don’t have a calling? To find yours, you can:

• Reflect on how the work you do contributes to society. This could inspire you and your customers. Globally, 67% of people want brands to make a positive contribution to the wider world. [12]
• Change your job to reflect your core values. Add, delegate and customize what you do to match your true interests where possible. That’s what happened to students in Maryland (USA). When they related subjects to their personal lives, interest levels and grades spiked. [13]
• Find inspiration from someone close to you. Researchers found that supporting a family provides energy and boosts job performance. [14]

Hope for The Best

Whether you find inner or outer motivations to grow your grit, you can go further with hope. Or what Duckworth calls "the expectation that our own efforts can improve our future". [15]

You can start with your vocabulary. In a study of gym goers, those who told themselves, “I can’t miss a workout” felt like an order and only succeeded 10% of the time. Those who said, “I don’t miss workouts” felt empowered to an 80% success rate. [16]

Roll With the Punches

To quote film boxer Rocky Balboa, "Life's not about how hard of a hit you can give... it's about how many you can take, and still keep moving forward." [17] Rocky, like the real-life examples in Duckworth’s research, don’t just get hit again and again. They roll with the punches, learn to adapt and overcome future obstacles.

But for your brain to rewire for success, neuropsychologist Steve Maier says you must "experience mastery at the same time as adversity". [18] In other words, prove you can dig yourself out of a rut.

The power of mastering a skill is backed up psychologists at the Democritus University of Thrace and the University of Thessaly (Greece). They discovered that students who devote more time to athletics, academia or music notice their skills improve. This, in turn, gives them a sense of competence and desire to get better. [19]

Cultures of Grit

A good way to raise resilience levels is to surround yourself with gritty people. Duckworth spends time with the Seattle Seahawks American football team. Staff and players live by a ‘be early’ mantra for meetings. In practice sessions, offensive and defensive sides ‘play to win’. And they ‘finish strong’ on and off the field. By immersing themselves in a gritty culture, Seahawkers want to step up for each other. [20]

Learn From Pret

It’s not just sports teams who have grit. So do employees at food retailer Pret a Manger, which earned an Investors in People Award. To create a passionate culture in your organization, you can:

• Set up a staff buddy system. At Pret, new managers spend time at a ‘buddy store’, where they can see how their policies affect employees – and get feedback from buddies.
• Invest in personal development. Pret’s philosophy is to retain, develop and promote its best employees. No surprise that 60% of new managers come from within the company.
• Empower team members. Staff are encouraged to recommend good-fit candidates. And they have a say when hiring new staffers, too. [21]

Test Your Grit

Wondering how gritty you are? You can take Duckworth’s grit test to get your perseverance score. But don’t worry if you score low. You can grow grit from the ‘inside out’ by cultivating your interests, connecting your work with an outer purpose and learning to hope. You can also grow grit from the ‘outside in’ by surrounding yourself with passionate friends, colleagues and mentors. [22]