A 3 Min Review: Grit — Angela Duckworth

Paragon — “A person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. If you’re a veteran in the ‘personal development’ space, you’ll probably find most of the concepts explored in this book as some kind of rehash which you were probably already familiar with. Nonetheless, it definitely served as a timely reminder for myself, and actually presented fresh insights.

While I found that there were a more than a handful of valuables takeaways, I’ve summarized my takeaways into the 4 main themes [4Ps] outlined in the book —

Passion

‘What is the natural for you to think about?’

The importance of exploration and experimentation. We often see passion associated with words of intensity — fire, desire, excitement… you get the deal. So what I really enjoyed about this chapter was it’s focus on the practical aspect of passion. You’ll never discover what you love if you never tried it. It’s so plainly obvious but that might be precisely why it’s so easy for stuff like that to go over our heads.

Practice

‘There’s a difference between 20 years of experiences and 1 year of experience 20 times over.’

Be deliberate. I’ve heard this quote several times now, but each time I hear it, it always prompts me to take a step back to reflect on where I currently am in my journey. Striking a balance between comfort and discomfort is tough, but key in maintaining consistent growth.

Patience

Probably our greatest enemy (well, mine at least). In a world of instant gratification, the patient will triumph. If you’re familiar with Gary Vaynerchuk, you’ll know that this is one of his go-tos when giving advice. Understanding that you probably won’t see the fruits of your labor for a long time can be somewhat liberating. It really helps frame your mindset towards the journey. Don’t worry too much about where you’re headed, you’ll arrive at your destination as long as you continue moving forward.

Persistence

What stood out to me the most in this segment was the chapter which looked at the various parenting styles as well and the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ of each.

After going through this chapter, I started reflecting on my personal life and realized that my parents fell into the ‘permissive’ category. Highly supportive and undemanding. While it is easy to reflect on this with a ‘woe-is-me’ mindset, it probably isn’t the healthiest thing to do. The best thing we can do here, is to be honest with ourselves and aware of our potential short-comings while moving forward.

Favorite Chapter: Culture of Grit

The author shared her experience as a parent as well as interviews with various individuals who were responsible of establishing the culture of Grit in their own institutions. While some of it sounded like a reiteration of ideas I had already come across in other articles or videos, but the studies she shared and her experience really helped to anchor in the importance of instilling a Culture of Grit and the almost inescapable need to persist through challenging tasks.

YAY or NAY

It’s a solid YAY from me 🙂. Even if you have read many personal development books in the past, I’m certain that the different studies illustrated in this book will help give you a fresh perspective on some of these topics. The only advice I have (if you actually decide to pick this book up) — Don’t rush through it. Take your time to enjoy and ‘digest’ it’s messages. After I had finished reading this book for the first time, I felt overwhelmed with knowledge but hadn’t given myself time to reflect on how it could be applied to my own life. So taking away the lesson on Patience from the book — BE PATIENT.

If you’re interested in reading it for yourself!

[Hard copy & Soft Copy] : https://amzn.to/31vtlc8

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