Essay on The Danger of a Single Story
- 15 December 2024
- 712 words
Grit means having a strong inner compass that guides all human decisions and actions. In this Ted Talk essay on “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Lee Duckworth, the author talks about the concept of grit widely. From what the speaker says, I can reflect on my past experiences and identify areas where grit can be applied. She stresses the significance of grit in achieving success, concurrently drawing parallels to my personal experiences in overcoming challenges in both academic and professional pursuits, highlighting the shocking misconception of talent as the sole determinant of success, and providing valuable insights on acquiring grit, advocating its vital role in schools.
The video’s main point is grit, its advantages, and how people can achieve it. For instance, after several studies, Duckworth and her colleagues discovered grit as the main factor for success, surpassing intelligence quotient (IQ), social intelligence, good looks, and physical health (02:44-03:01). With grit, people can stick to their future goals and can do anything to achieve them, despite any hardships on the way. One with grit strives to turn the feature goals into a reality, which ensures success. Additionally, Duckworth states that a growth mindset is the best way to cultivate grit in kids (04:52-04:58). Children need to have a mindset that their efforts can help them to achieve everything, making them gritty and successful. People ought to have faith in their efforts. Hence, as per the video, grit is a critical factor for success, achieved by having an optimistic mindset.
Duckworth’s talk about grit perfectly reflects my school and career lives. According to psychologists, one has to have grit to achieve intricate, long-term goals (Morton and Paul 175). I have had challenging moments in my academic and professional lives, most of which seemed insurmountable. However, my unbreakable spirit and resilience helped me to go through the student life, overcoming all challenges successfully. Therefore, just like Duckworth, I learned that talent alone is insufficient for one to gain success.
Learning about grit is vital since one gains insight into acquiring it and its benefits. For instance, quitting results from a loss of confidence, while success is a result of continued effort (Morton and Paul 175). As mentioned earlier, having a growth mindset is the sole way to have grit. After acquiring it, people can conquer almost any challenge in life since grit gives confidence and hope that they will overcome anything. As such, Duckworth’s video shares vital information that, if followed, can lead to success.
The information in the video can be applied in all academic institutions by students. Grit, in an academic context, is the ability to endure effort and interest in projects that take long to complete, and most college professors or graduates can attest to this (Paulsen 561). When students encounter challenging coursework or long-term educational goals, the only way to attain success is through persistence and determination despite all failures. Hence, among other areas, learning institutions are the perfect areas to apply grit.
The one thing that surprised me was the fact that most people think that talent alone is a guarantee of success. Despite having several advantages, talent alone is not a solution when facing challenges (Mints par. 3). In this case, success is associated with talent only, but this is not true, according to Duckworth. People often associate success with exceptional abilities, assuming that only talent guarantees achievement, not knowing that passion and perseverance are the most important. As a result, people should not rely on talent alone. Instead, they ought to be gritty in order to be successful.
The main point of Duckworth’s talk is the importance of grit in achieving success. The video mirrors how I struggled in my school and professional life to achieve success. It also points out the fallacy surrounding talent as the sole determinant of success. In turn, the speaker states that one needs to have a growth mindset to attain grit and points out how this mindset plays a vital role in schools. Overall, grit is the key trait that everyone should develop to be successful.
Duckworth, Angela L.. “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.” Ted Talks, 2013, www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance.
Mints, Michael. “Grit Versus Talent.” Medium, 2022, medium.com/an-idea/grit-versus-talent-575bd9e055ef.
Morton, Jennifer M., and Sarah K. Paul. “Grit.” Ethics, vol. 129, no. 2, Jan. 2019, pp. 175–203, doi:10.1086/700029.
Paulsen, Michael. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. Cham Springer International Publishing, 2016.