# Angela Duckworth - Grit (Highlights)  ## Metadata **Review**:: [readwise.io](https://readwise.io/bookreview/61388063) **Source**:: #from/readwise #from/kindle **Zettel**:: #zettel/fleeting **Status**:: #x **Authors**:: [[Angela Duckworth]] **Full Title**:: Grit **Category**:: #books #readwise/books **Category Icon**:: 📚 **Highlighted**:: [[2026-07-10]] **Created**:: [[2026-07-11]] ## Highlights - First, these exemplars were unusually resilient and hardworking. Second, they knew in a very, very deep way what it was they wanted. They not only had determination, they had direction. ([Location 148](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=148)) ^1025943066 - Outliers, Galton concluded, are remarkable in three ways: they demonstrate unusual “ability” in combination with exceptional “zeal” and “the capacity for hard labor.” ([Location 319](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=319)) ^1026256848 - The normal response to being puzzled about something is to say,“I’ll think about this later,” and then, in effect, forget about it. With Darwin, one feels that he deliberately did not engage in this kind of semi-willful forgetting. He kept all the questions alive at the back of his mind, ready to be retrieved when a relevant bit of data presented itself. ([Location 339](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=339)) ^1026256849 - The “naturalness bias” is a hidden prejudice against those who’ve achieved what they have because they worked for it, and a hidden preference for those whom we think arrived at their place in life because they’re naturally talented. ([Location 381](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=381)) ^1026256850 - By shining our spotlight on talent, we risk leaving everything else in the shadows. ([Location 477](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=477)) ^1026256851 - “Superlative performance is really a confluence of dozens of small skills or activities, each one learned or stumbled upon, which have been carefully drilled into habit and then are fitted together in a synthesized whole. There is nothing extraordinary or superhuman in any one of those actions; only the fact that they are done consistently and correctly, and all together, produce excellence.” ([Location 535](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=535)) ^1026256852 - Greatness is many, many individual feats, and each of them is doable.” ([Location 561](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=561)) ^1026256853 - “For if we think of genius as something magical, we are not obliged to compare ourselves and find ourselves lacking…. To call someone ‘divine’ means: ‘here there is no need to compete.’ ” ([Location 583](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=583)) ^1026256854 - Talent is how quickly your skills improve when you invest effort. Achievement is what happens when you take your acquired skills and use them. ([Location 620](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=620)) ^1026889896 Achievement = talent x effort squared - Talent—how fast we improve in skill—absolutely matters. But effort factors into the calculations twice, not once. Effort builds skill. At the very same time, effort makes skill productive. ([Location 624](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=624)) ^1026889897 - It soon became clear that doing one thing better and better might be more satisfying than staying an amateur at many different things: ([Location 631](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=631)) ^1026889898 - But those who struggle early may learn it better: ([Location 668](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=668)) ^1026889899 - Or, in Allen’s snappier formulation, “Eighty percent of success in life is showing up.” ([Location 719](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=719)) ^1026889900 - consistency of effort over the long run is everything. ([Location 734](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=734)) ^1026889901 - With effort, talent becomes skill and, at the very same time, effort makes skill productive. ([Location 749](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=749)) ^1026889902 - Rather than intensity, what comes up again and again in their remarks is the idea of consistency over time. ([Location 893](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=893)) ^1026889903 - Grit is about holding the same top-level goal for a very long time. ([Location 993](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=993)) ^1026889904 - In contrast, a lack of grit can come from having less coherent goal structures. ([Location 995](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=995)) ^1026889905 - Third, you take a good hard look at the twenty goals you didn’t circle. These you avoid at all costs. They’re what distract you; they eat away time and energy, taking your eye from the goals that matter more. ([Location 1024](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1024)) ^1026889906 - Any successful person has to decide what to do in part by deciding what not to do. ([Location 1039](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1039)) ^1026889907 - But don’t beat your head against the wall attempting to follow through on something that is, merely, a means to a more important end. ([Location 1052](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1052)) ^1026889908 - Indeed, giving up on lower-level goals is not only forgivable, it’s sometimes absolutely necessary. ([Location 1121](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1121)) ^1026889909 - First: grit, talent, and all other psychological traits relevant to success in life are influenced by genes and also by experience. Second: there’s no single gene for grit, or indeed any other psychological trait. ([Location 1241](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1241)) ^1027269778 - First comes interest. Passion begins with intrinsically enjoying what you do. ([Location 1359](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1359)) ^1027269779 - Next comes the capacity to practice. One form of perseverance is the daily discipline of trying to do things better than we did yesterday. ([Location 1362](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1362)) ^1027269780 - Third is purpose. What ripens passion is the conviction that your work matters. ([Location 1366](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1366)) ^1027269781 (**supports**:: [[Donella Meadows et al. - Thinking in Systems (Highlights)]]) - And, finally, hope. Hope is a rising-to-the-occasion kind of perseverance. ([Location 1371](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1371)) ^1027269782 - But, in fact, most grit paragons I’ve interviewed told me they spent years exploring several different interests, and the one that eventually came to occupy all of their waking (and some sleeping) thoughts wasn’t recognizably their life’s destiny on first acquaintance. ([Location 1459](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1459)) ^1027269783 - Barry thinks that what prevents a lot of young people from developing a serious career interest is unrealistic expectations. ([Location 1494](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1494)) ^1027269784 - Second, interests are not discovered through introspection. Instead, interests are triggered by interactions with the outside world. ([Location 1522](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1522)) ^1027269785 - “One of the huge mistakes people make is that they try to force an interest on themselves.” ([Location 1525](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1525)) ^1027269786 - In other words, when you just start to get interested in something, you may not even realize that’s what’s happening. The emotion of boredom is always self-conscious—you know it when you feel it—but when your attention is attracted to a new activity or experience, you may have very little reflective appreciation of what’s happening to you. ([Location 1527](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1527)) ^1027269787 - Third, what follows the initial discovery of an interest is a much lengthier and increasingly proactive period of interest development. ([Location 1531](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1531)) ^1027269788 - Finally, interests thrive when there is a crew of encouraging supporters, including parents, teachers, coaches, and peers. ([Location 1538](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1538)) ^1027269789 - Before those who’ve yet to fix on a passion are ready to spend hours a day diligently honing skills, they must goof around, triggering and retriggering interest. ([Location 1561](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1561)) ^1027269790 - A degree of autonomy during the early years is also important. Longitudinal studies tracking learners confirm that overbearing parents and teachers erode intrinsic motivation. ([Location 1573](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1573)) ^1027269791 - ‘It’s not important that I understand everything. It’s important that I listen.’ ” ([Location 1627](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1627)) ^1027799976 - There seems no harm in pursuing a variety of different hobbies, but endlessly dating new occupations, and never settling down with just one, is a more serious matter. ([Location 1641](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1641)) ^1027799977 - For the beginner, novelty is anything that hasn’t been encountered before. For the expert, novelty is nuance. ([Location 1673](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1673)) ^1027799978 - As soon as you have even a general direction in mind, you must trigger your nascent interests. Do this by going out into the world and doing something. ([Location 1685](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1685)) ^1027799979 - There are many. You don’t have to find the “right” one, or even the “best” one—just a direction that feels good. ([Location 1693](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1693)) ^1027799980 - Don’t be afraid to erase an answer that isn’t working out. At some point, you may choose to write your top-level goal in indelible ink, but until you know for sure, work in pencil. ([Location 1694](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1694)) ^1027799981 - “The old in the new is what claims the attention,” said William James. “The old with a slightly new turn.” ([Location 1705](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1705)) ^1027799982 - Rather than focus on what they already do well, experts strive to improve specific weaknesses. They intentionally seek out challenges they can’t yet meet. ([Location 1765](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1765)) ^1027799983 - Then, with undivided attention and great effort, experts strive to reach their stretch goal. ([Location 1770](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1770)) ^1027799984 - As soon as possible, experts hungrily seek feedback on how they did. Necessarily, much of that feedback is negative. ([Location 1774](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1774)) ^1027799985 - In a sense, quizzing may have been a necessary prelude to doing more targeted, more efficient, deliberate practice. ([Location 1839](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1839)) ^1028156613 - Gritty people do more deliberate practice and experience more flow. There’s no contradiction here, for two reasons. First, deliberate practice is a behavior, and flow is an experience. ([Location 1909](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=1909)) ^1028156614 - Once you’ve made your selection, do deliberate practice then and there every day. Why? Because routines are a godsend when it comes to doing something hard. ([Location 2030](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2030)) ^1028156615 - learning from mistakes is something babies and toddlers don’t mind at all. ([Location 2059](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2059)) ^1028156616 - At its core, the idea of purpose is the idea that what we do matters to people other than ourselves. ([Location 2101](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2101)) ^1028156617 - Those fortunate people who do see their work as a calling—as opposed to a job or a career—reliably say “my work makes the world a better place.” And it’s these people who seem most satisfied with their jobs and their lives overall. ([Location 2174](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2174)) ^1028156618 - In the parable of the bricklayers, everyone has the same occupation, but their subjective experience—how they themselves viewed their work—couldn’t be more different. ([Location 2202](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2202)) ^1028156619 - How you see your work is more important than your job title. ([Location 2210](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2210)) ^1028156620 - Two years later, young people who’d mentioned both self- and other-oriented motives rated their schoolwork as more personally meaningful than classmates who’d named either motive alone. ([Location 2328](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2328)) ^1028702758 - David Yeager recommends reflecting on how the work you’re already doing can make a positive contribution to society. ([Location 2398](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2398)) ^1028702759 - Amy Wrzesniewski recommends thinking about how, in small but meaningful ways, you can change your current work to enhance its connection to your core values. ([Location 2406](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2406)) ^1028702760 - “Imagine yourself fifteen years from now. What do you think will be most important to you then?” ([Location 2416](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2416)) ^1028702761 - This seminal experiment proved for the first time that it isn’t suffering that leads to hopelessness. It’s suffering you think you can’t control. ([Location 2475](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2475)) ^1028702762 - Permanent and pervasive explanations for adversity turn minor complications into major catastrophes. ([Location 2506](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2506)) ^1028702763 - When you keep searching for ways to change your situation for the better, you stand a chance of finding them. ([Location 2561](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2561)) ^1028702764 - Or as Henry Ford is often quoted as saying, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t—you’re right.” ([Location 2563](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2563)) ^1028702765 - The lesson was that, when you have setbacks and failures, you can’t overreact to them. You need to step back, analyze them, and learn from them. But you also need to stay optimistic.” ([Location 2699](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2699)) ^1031308378 - In other words, what didn’t kill the young rats, when by their own efforts they could control what was happening, made them stronger for life. ([Location 2726](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=2726)) ^1031308379 - Both families were “child-centered” in the sense that they clearly put their children’s interests first, but neither family felt that children were always the better judge of what to do, how hard to work, and when to give up on things. ([Location 3011](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=3011)) ^1032631903 - Their authority is based on knowledge and wisdom, rather than power. ([Location 3017](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=3017)) ^1032631904 - If you want to bring forth grit in your child, first ask how much passion and perseverance you have for your own life goals. Then ask yourself how likely it is that your approach to parenting encourages your child to emulate you. ([Location 3084](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=3084)) ^1032631905 - “Jürgen somehow knew the extent of my comfort zone and manufactured situations which were slightly outside it. ([Location 3103](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=3103)) ^1032631906 - You have nothing to lose by trying.” ([Location 3151](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=3151)) ^1032631907 - Bob will go further and say that without directly experiencing the connection between effort and reward, animals, whether they’re rats or people, default to laziness. ([Location 3438](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MH9V3W&location=3438)) ^1033271524