Do You Have the GRIT Factor?

April 12, 2018

Last week, I facilitated a breakout session on GRIT at the Community College of Allegheny County Women’s Empowerment Conference in Pittsburgh. Most people attended the session out of curiosity. I became familiar with the concept of grit a few years ago when I heard Angela Duckworth, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania talk about the role grit plays in a person’s success. Duckworth was catapulted to the forefront of the field after delivering a TED talk that received over a million views. She defined Grit as the power of passion and perseverance. In her research, Duckworth found that there are many people who are smart and talented, but grit is among the most important predictors of success. More importantly, we all have the power to increase our inner grit.

Below are the four characteristics of grit that I shared in my session:
1. Gifts—Everyone has a natural talent or superior ability in some area. Math, science, music, sports and sales are just some of the natural talents individuals have. Whatever your natural talent, you still need to have determination and the ability to work hard to be successful.
2. Resilience—After a setback, are you able to pick up, dust off and remount? Resilience is a dynamic combination of optimism, creativity, and confidence, which together empower one to reappraise situations and regulate emotion.
3. Initiative—Going above and beyond what is asked of you is a must. Initiative means asking questions and acting, despite your fears.
4. Tenacity—Being tenacious means carrying on in the face of difficulty. By keeping focused on your goals, you will keep moving forward even when you don’t feel like it. In other words, practice must have purpose to be meaningful.

I personally grew up in a low-to middle-class neighborhood in the South Oakland section of Pittsburgh. There were several societal factors that could have easily derailed me from my goals of completing college and pursuing a career, but I fortunately possessed the grounding and grit to maintain my focus. As actor Will Smith said in an interview, “We didn’t grow up with the sense that where we were, was where we were going to be. We grew up with the sense that where we were almost didn’t matter, because we were becoming something greater.”

I wholeheartedly agree with Will’s statement. I also believe that channeling my inner grit made all the difference in my success. For me, taking advantage of opportunities that came my way…working hard and building upon my skills…being full of determination…making the right life choices…and being full of hope and optimism are all the things that mattered.

Want to know how gritty you are? Take the Grit Quiz developed by Angela Duckworth.