Grit is an interesting and predominantly new approach to preparing children for success. Traditionally, it has been assumed a child will be successful if they have a high IQ, strong technical skills, and perform well on tests. While these factors are important, research led by Angela Lee Duckworth is suggesting that there is, in fact, a different characteristic that determines success. That characteristic is grit.
What is grit?
According to Duckworth, grit is a passion and perseverance for long term goals, having stamina, and working towards your goal everyday for years. In short, grit is the perseverance to overcome challenges and continually work hard.
How does grit work?
Grit is perseverance focused. This means that when your child uses grit, they are taking the time to focus on overcoming the obstacles that get in the way of their individual goals. For example, let's say that your child wants to do better in math. Them improving their grade from a C- to a C+ requires a lot of grit! It isn't the outcome, but their improvement that should be commended!
Grit and Entrepreneurship
When young entrepreneurs come together to work on a project. Each of them contributes by doing an individual action. Some group members will be working on prototyping, market research, brainstorming etc. This means that each group of members faces unique challenges. These challenges are very different from each other, and will result in different outcomes.Rather than comparing is one child was more successful from another, we should commend them both for expressing grit and accomplishing their individual goals.
Grit and Abraham Lincoln
Entrepreneurs and students are not the only ones that need to use grit. Our presidents do as well! To celebrate President's Day, we thought we would share with you the ways in which our own presidents were entrepreneurs. Before his term, Lincoln owned his own general store and law practice. Both of these provided him with unique challenges that required perseverance. As president, Lincoln was faced with an even larger challenge of keeping our country together. While the process of doing so was not perfect, he ultimately succeeded. The amounts of grit needed to do that must of been monumental. He is now viewed as the American icon for overcoming challenge, and learning from failure.
Intersted in seeing if your child has the grit of President Lincoln? Take Duckworth's grit test here.
