“…achievement is the product of talent and effort.” (Duckworth et al., 2007)

In this TED Talk, Angela Duckworth speaks about her experience as a teacher and what differentiated the best and worst students in her seventh grade math class. She found that the students with the highest grades weren’t necessarily the ones with the highest I.Q.

In fact, she studied individuals in a variety of situations—from cadets at West Point Military Academy to competitors in the National Spelling Bee—and discovered again that the most successful individuals were not the ones with the greatest social intelligence, physical aptitude, or I.Q.

Instead, the most significant predictor of success in her studies was grit, a “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.” One of the ways to build grit is to have a growth mindset, which is the belief that the ability to learn can be changed with effort. So when you hit a hard problem, don’t stop: keep trying, practice, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Here’s the full video on grit, growth, and greatness:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8[/youtube]

Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of personality and social psychology, 92(6), 1087.