Grit - The Power of Passion and Perseverance

This entry is a continuation of my book review series. The series documents a brief overview of each book, 3-5 lessons learned and a reflection on how these lessons apply to personal, professional, and societal contexts.

Overview

Angela Duckworth summarizes her analysis on Grit. Angela is a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship along with accomplishing many other professional, academic, and personal achievements. However, she does not attribute her success to intellect but to a combination of passion and perseverance. She recalls personal and professional experience to express how to build and nurture Grit.

Lessons

• It is important to be both supportive and demanding as a parent.
• The prevalence of fragile perfectionism is alarming within my generation.
• It is important to build cultures that value grit, accept failure and support bouncing back from all instances of failure.

Reflections

• Angela’s teachings inform how to build Grit. Furthermore, implementing her lessons in personal and professional contexts may help address some of the most pressing psychological and emotional issues facing younger generations. Several factors contribute to the exacerbation of Mental Health-related issues. These include, but not limited to: An increased dependence on technology, lack of education surrounding the implications of technology use, changes in parenting techniques, isolation, and uncertainty from the pandemic. Lessons on Grit may better prepare adolescents in handing uncertainty, bounce back from life’s many failings and develop skills to mitigate psychological distress during tough times.