Psychologist Angela Duckworth spent years studying the psychology of success. What she concluded was this: to do

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Psychologist Angela Duckworth spent years studying the psychology of success. What she concluded was this: to do really well in life, don’t rely on natural talent. What you need is grit.

Talent and intelligence being equal, why do some individuals accomplish more than others? This was the question psychologist Angela Duckworth set out to explore.

Her conclusion was that what makes humans succeed are qualities she sums up as ‘grit’.

Duckworth defines grit as a combination of passion and perseverance for an important goal.’ It’s a commitment to finish what you start, a desire to improve and succeed, an ability to survive setbacks, and to undertake repeated, sometimes boring or unpleasant, practice.

During her years as a graduate student in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, Duckworth created a tool to measure grit, known as the ‘grit scale’.

The grit scale predicted who would be successful in a number of situations, from the contestants in the National Spelling Bee, public school students, and teachers, to who would survive the vigorous physical and mental challenges of army training. The measure proved to be far more accurate at predicting success than IQ, SAT scores, physical fitness measures, or other measures.

“Grit is having stamina,” says Duckworth. “Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality.

But grit is more than perseverance. Interest, passion, and a continuing engagement with your pursuit are vital, says Duckworth, as is hope. Gritty people are optimistic about the future and their ability to improve.

This doesn’t mean gritty people continually see the world through rose-colored glasses. They feel as much pain as anyone else, and get as discouraged by setbacks. The difference is they maintain a sense of hope or resilience, even when there are setbacks.

“We have to be willing to fail, to be wrong, to start over again with lessons learned,” says Duckworth. (333)

Read the passage above and write an essay responding to the ideas it presents. In your essay, be sure to summarize the passage in your own words, stating the author’s most important ideas. Develop your essay by identifying one idea in the passage that you feel is essentially significant, and explain its significance. Support your claims with evidence or examples drawn from what you have read, learned in school, and/or personally experienced.