Personal Grit Research Paper

What does grit mean ? According to psychologist Angela Duckworth, grit is defined as“the sustained effort toward a long-term goal.” Do you have grit because I do. I have Demonstrated grit many times in my life and I learn that not everyone is perfect.

Various psychologists define grit in different various ways. According to Duckworth et al (2007), they define grit as the perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Scientists and researchers while integrating biographical writings of the world famous figures have derived the same conclusions on the individuals who are known to be high achievers in the world and the connections their achievement have to grit.

Duckworth explains people with grit are those who confront failure and don’t give up easily. She did research on the U.S Army to determine their grit. She realize, if the soldiers had a though of mind of grit they showed good results in their military performance on summer camp. Also, there was a fascinating research she had with taxi drivers relating to grit. Commonly, one would think that taxi drivers make more money in a rainy day. But what she found out was that taxi drivers work less hours in rainy days because they would make the sufficient money they needed for the day. In similarity, she compare this research to talent and grit. One with talent will spent less time on something so they stop immediately once they have proficient. In the other hand, someone with grit will spend longer time and get more out of it.

Grit, what is this? Is it success, is it failure, or is it talent? As Angela Duckworth said “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day-in and 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. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” Grit is a combination of strength, persistence, focus, and dedication that helps a person to maintain the optimism and discipline needed to persevere in their goals even if they are head to head with failure. Grit does not depend on talent, IQ, or success. Grit is the ability to fail and learn from your mistake, in order to come back next

There are a lot of different ways people could think of grit. My concept of grit would be having the passion and perseverance to accomplish something. My goal is to one day be a travel nurse. There are alot things that come with nursing, becoming a travel nurse will be challenging but with courage, follow through and excellence rather than perfection you can achieve that goal.

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. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.” (TED

I had no experience as a runner nor did I have the form. This did not phase me however. That year I promised myself to push through all the six mile runs, sore legs, gnarly blisters, and at times, lack of oxygen. At every meet and speed workout practice I pushed myself further and further. I set a goal every time I kicked off from the starting line and never let myself get discouraged when I failed. By my senior year, I was the fourth fastest runner on varsity. That year our varsity team won the district meet, which qualified us to run in the 2016 state meet in Oregon. The transformation over the years were evident. My determination to accomplish my goal of becoming a faster runner was complete. If I had simply just given up that first day of practice, I wouldn't have ran along side of the fastest runners in Oregon or have met the multitude of people that are now my closest friends. Having a goal sets one up for a challenge, whether it being physically or mentally, goals keep us active and thinking in more ways than one. Still, if someone has self-control, confidence, and a goal, they are still not complete.

Angela Duckworth, a PENN psychologist, argues that in order to achieve long term goals, it requires one to be “gritty.” So what is grit? Grit is one’s self-discipline to pursue a goal that has been kept for a long period of time. In order to be successful in life, one has to have a long term goal that they are passionate about. A long term goal of mine that has made me become “gritty” is the career I aim to pursue.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines grit as; “firmness of mind or spirit: unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger.” (1) Throughout the whole story of Gary Pulse’s book, “Hatchet”, Brian Roberson, the main character shows grit when his life is transformed in an adventure where he always demonstrates determination, he is up to challenge, never gives up even when things go wrong. Brian constantly approaches every problem he faces with thoughtful mind and remaining in calm. After being stranded in the wilderness of Canadian Woods, Brian needs to fight for his survival, at the beginning; it started as a result of his instincts but as the story evolves he realizes the possibilities of him being rescued decrease each passing day: “…Not hope that he would be rescued-that was gone. But hope in his knowledge.

Have you ever set a long-term goal and were so determined to meet that goal no matter what happened? Angela Duckworth states, “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in and 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”. Sticking with a long-term goal, when you seem to have hit every bump in the road possible means that you contain grit. In class, we discussed how talent is inversely related to grit. Angela Duckworth did a study and made high school students take her grit test. In this test, she realized that the more grit that the student possessed, the higher chance that student would graduate.

Angela Duckworth defines grit as sticking with things over the very long term until you master them. According to the article,

He grew up and spent most of his childhood in Detroit. Being the only white kid at his school, he had a tough time. From physical to verbal bullying, he experienced it all. I was in his shoes at one point in my life. In my elementary school, from grade 4 to grade 5 I too was bullied like Eminem was just because I stood out and was not like everyone else.

Marshal Bruce Mathers III who is also know as Eminem was born with great talent and determination. He faced many challenges in his life but his determination and commitment lead him to success. Eminem's life as a child wasn't easy since his father abandoned him when he was six months old. He lived with an abusive mother who never supported him and considered him as a worthless human being. According to Han Eysencks. Eminem would be categorized as extroverted because he was very active and energized. He loved to talk with people and express his feelings. He had great talent and wanted to show the world that he can rise to the top. Eminem became to be the king of rap and also a great actor. Eminem faced some difficulties throughout his life

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives many different definitions defining the word “grit”. A definition that caught my attention was “unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger” .It gave me a personal reference as to reaching a goal, you have to be faced with challenges that you’ll need to conquer with grit being included. In Angela Lee Duckworth’s TED Talk, “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,” she claims that having students being pushed to the max is the only way to see the full extent of grit, and I agree with Duckworth. I was able to demonstrate grit on becoming a better basketball play after not making the team my sophomore year of high school. Ever since I was disappointed in my results of not making the team, I had told myself this wasn’t going to mean I was done playing basketball .I gave myself perseverance in knowing I could make it next year with motivation.

Eminem is one of the most famous rappers of all time,but it was no easy ride. He was basically homeless as child. He had absolutely nothing ,but that didn't stop him. Look at him now , he’s one of the most well known rappers and has released at least 3 albums.