16 May “Grit” may well be the key to success & happiness…and here’s how you can become grittier!
Do you ever feel you'd like to be stronger? Not necessarily physically stronger, but mentally stronger?
If so, there's a good reason…because what psychologists often call grit (similar to resilience and perseverance) is increasingly being seen as a key contributor to success and happiness.
And who wouldn't want more success and happiness?!?!
The following article, via Business Insider by Shana Lebowitz outlines not just why grit is important, but how you can build more of it…
People love personality tests, and I’m no exception, so I was thrilled to find a copy of the “grit scale” in Angela Duckworth’s new book, “Grit.”
Your agreement or disagreement with 10 statements, including “I often set a goal but later choose to pursue a different one” and “I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge,” produces a total grit score, which reveals how much passion and perseverance you typically display. (You can take a 12-item version of the scale here.)
Your grit score is important because, according to Duckworth, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, it strongly influences how far you’ll go in life. Duckworth’s research has found that the average American scores about 3.8 on a scale of 1 (not at all gritty) to 5 (extremely gritty).
Unfortunately, I scored a 3, putting me in the 20th percentile of the American population.
And while I could have given up right there, thrown the book away and declared myself a hopeless cause, how gritty would that be?
Not very — and not very wise, either. That’s because Duckworth says grit is something that can be developed and worked on over time.
In fact, the book includes a copy of a graph showing that most 25- to 34-year-olds score between 3.4 and 3.5 on measures of grit, while those 65 and older score nearly 4.
Presumably, that’s the result of the normal process of maturation. But Duckworth has lots of advice for people who want to actively grow their grit — and up their chances of personal and professional success…
…keep reading the full & original article HERE