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The term Grit is in vogue in education, and business circles, and for good reason: it is a hallmark of success.
Based on the groundbreaking research of Angela Duckworth, author of the best-selling book and wildly popular Ted Talk Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, grit is a character trait that we want to cultivate in our children, our students, and ourselves.
Duckworth defines grit as passion and perseverance for long-term and meaningful goals. Essentially, it is one’s ability to endure and persist over time on a journey towards accomplishing big and hard things.
Grit is a combination of desire and fortitude, in which an individual is willing to do the many small, mundane tasks that give us no pleasure in and of ourselves, so that we may realize our dreams.
Because talent is overrated. The world is filled with what could have been, and talent is in no short supply. Grit is what turns talent into skill, and turns potential into reality. We all know somebody who had tons of smarts, or great athletic ability, but for whatever reason did very little with it. When talent meets grit, the potential can be realized.
Kids do not need to know what they will do for the rest of their life, but they do need to identify and pursue passions. In the process of pursuing their passions, which will most likely change over time, they develop grit.
It’s the ultimate chicken and the egg: does success breed confidence, or does confidence breed success? The short answer is both. Kids need to do hard things so that they learn that they can do hard things.
The more hard things they do, the more they know and believe that they can do hard things. We need to get kids out of their comfort zones and encourage them to take appropriate risks.
There is a saying that quitting makes a quitter. I believe there is some truth to that when we quickly stop at things when things get tough when we don’t succeed right away, or when we don’t get what we want; it can become a repeating pattern in our lives. This pattern can rob us of our success because persistence and resilience are essential to achieving meaningful long-term goals.
Although it might be difficult to watch your child struggle, it is essential for them. According to Duckworth, taking risks and struggling is an important way that children learn. Don’t be afraid of your child’s feelings of sadness or frustration; this is how they develop resilience.
So if you find your child in a challenging situation, outside of their comfort zone, dealing with frustration, or facing their fears, let them struggle and encourage them not to give up. That struggle is essential. Don’t take it from them, as it will help them develop the skills they will need to face life’s challenges.
Fear of failure and fear of making mistakes can keep us from trying. When children make mistakes, help them take a step back and take an objective look at what happened.
What strategies did we use? Which strategies were effective and which weren’t? What kind of attitudes, beliefs, and expectations did we bring to the task? What kind of effort did we give? Based on what we learned, what would we do differently next time?
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