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People who are really gritty – they’re still interested.

Angela Duckworth

Maybe. But the reality is that our early interests are fragile, vaguely defined, and in need of energetic, years-long cultivation and refinement.
ANGELA DUCKWORTH

Cultivation Define Early Energetic Interest Maybe Need Refinement Vaguely
Psychologists call this the maturity principle. My own life experience fits this principle to a T.
ANGELA DUCKWORTH

Call Experience Life Maturity Own Principle Pschllogistic
When I was 27 years old, I left a very demanding job in management consulting for a job that was even more demanding: teaching. I went to teach seventh graders math in the New York City public schools.
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Consult Demand Demanding Even Job Management More Old Seven Teaching Twenty Year
You know, the things that I want my own daughters to develop – the idea that we’re going to get there through rewards and punishments seems completely at odds with the idea of character itself.
ANGELA DUCKWORTH

Character Daughter Develop Idea Itself Punishment Reward Seem Thing
So when my daughter told me on the second track meet that she was done with it because she discovered she didn’t like competing, I made her finish the season.
ANGELA DUCKWORTH

Competing Daughter Discover Made Season Second Track Was
Longitudinal studies following thousands of people across time have shown that most people only begin to gravitate toward certain vocational interests, and away from others, around middle school.
ANGELA DUCKWORTH

Across Follow Longitudinal Middle People Thousand School Shown Study Time
When people tell me I can’t do something, I have a visceral reflex to say, ‘Yes, I can.’
ANGELA DUCKWORTH

Can People Reflex Say Something Tell Visceral
To me, the most shocking thing about grit is how little we know, how little science knows, about building it.
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Building Girl Know Little Most Science Shock Thing
I would be surprised if my girls ended up as women without grit. I really would.
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Ended Girl Really Surprise Women Would
Negative feelings are typical of learning, and you shouldn’t feel like you’re stupid when you’re frustrated doing something. You might say to yourself, ‘I can’t do this,’ but you should say, ‘That’s great.’ That means you really have the potential to learn something there.
ANGELA DUCKWORTH

Facial Feel Feeling Frustrate Learn Like Negative Something Stupid Typical
There haven’t been genetic studies on grit, but we often think that challenge is inherited but grit is learned. That’s not what science says. Science says grit comes from both nature and nurture.
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Challenge Genetic Girl Inherited Learn Science Studies
I now have Grit Scale scores from thousands of American adults. My data provide a snapshot of grit across adulthood.
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Adult Country Girl Scale Score Thousand
People’s lives really do turn out differently. And it certainly can’t be explained by how intelligent you remember them being when they were sitting next to you in organic chemistry class.
ANGELA DUCKWORTH

Being Sit Differently Explain Intelligent Live Next Out People Really Remember
I know that instructional time is a zero-sum game, but if we want kids to do well academically, it’s hard to imagine that happening if they don’t have some control over their attention.
ANGELA DUCKWORTH

Academically Game Instructional Kid Know Sum Time Well Zero
As our knees and hips and eyesight deteriorate, we become more dependable, less impulsive, kinder, and less moody.
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Become Deteriorate Eyesight Hip Impulse Kinder Knee Less Moody More Our
I worked hard when I was a consultant. I worked hard when I was in graduate school looking at neuroscience.
ANGELA DUCKWORTH

Consultant Gratitude Hard Harder Look Neuroscience School Work Worker

People who are really gritty – they’re still interested.

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People who are really gritty – they’re still interested.

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