What is more essential for fulfillment – talent or effort?
Most of us would say talent. But based on psychologist and best-selling creator Angela Duckworthmost of us could be completely fallacious.
From a young age, Duckworth understood our tendency to overestimate talent. Her parents’ obsessive concentrate on success and achievement was a key factor.
“It was talked about all the time in our house,” she said. “Who was the most successful person in our family? Who is the most successful of our cousins? Who is the smartest physicist who ever lived? Who is the greatest painter who ever lived?”
Her father, particularly, viewed talent as almost synonymous with later success.
But Duckworth took a distinct route. “I’ve grown into a psychologist who studies pretty much everything that goes into your innate talent and gifts,” she said. “This common denominator that I have identified in high achievers, whether athletes, musicians or investors, is courage.”
The basic concept of grit sounds quite simple: “passion and perseverance toward long-term goals,” within the words of Duckworth. But it should be difficult. “This quality of courage is malleable and has no connection at all to the standards of talent,” she said.
So not only do we’d like to beat the assumption that talent defines our potential and limits our possibilities, but we also must redefine the best way we take into consideration benefiting from our talents.
Consider the so-called 10,000-hour rule. This concept, based on a single study of German musicians, led to the false concept that mastery could possibly be achieved just by investing time. But that’s an oversimplification. The actual study found that a really specific and highly demanding style of practice separates the superiors from the superb ones, and that the standard of effort over time is at the least as essential because the sheer length of time.
Duckworth interpreted these findings from the angle of “grit” and broke the principle down into three elements:
- Focus on a particular aspect of overall performance and make targeted efforts to enhance it.
- Focus on this effort with 100% intensity, without multitasking, because half-hearted or mindless “practice” won’t be enough.
- Continually seek feedback on how you may do higher and repeat steps 1-3 relentlessly until peak performance is achieved.
All of this will sound like sheer persistence. But courage has one other crucial component: passion. “Happiness, courage and success are all connected,” Duckworth said. “Can you really become world class by doing thousands and thousands of hours of this kind of difficult, deliberate practice without loving what you do?”
So there’s nothing magical in regards to the 10,000 hour rule. But there’s something magical about hours spent in quality practice.
Persistence + Passion = Success?
However, there may be more to the grit equation. Yes, persistence pays off, but most of us still view talent as a rigid, inflexible substance. Duckworth’s research has examined how this mindset affects us, and the toughest a part of achieving true courage could also be understanding that our abilities are more malleable than we imagine.
“Your courage, your curiosity, your humility – there is nothing about you that is completely fixed when it comes to your mindset, your habits, your character,” she said.
In Duckworth’s studies, “success” is all the time defined as objectively possible through countable or measurable criteria. But the malleability of our potential is more subjective and is dependent upon belief. The only solution to measure that is to have the eagerness to stubbornly strive for something difficult for a very long time. Throughout the method, we simply cannot know whether such over-focused efforts will lead to success. Our preconceptions in regards to the limits of our abilities may limit us greater than our innate abilities.
But there may be one other subjective factor: luck.
Aerodynamic tracking
“Happiness and success must be linked, but they are not the same. Happiness is how you feel about your life. It’s subjective, not objective,” Duckworth said. “Grit not only predicts objective measures of success, but it also predicts feeling subjectively happy, feeling lots of positive emotions daily, and being satisfied with life overall.”
So what makes us pleased is the hard persistence within the seek for an unknown potential that may only be realized after years of sacrifice? As counterintuitive because it could appear, that is exactly what Duckworth’s research suggests.
“I think what it really means to be bold is to have some agreement on goals, and that creates the opposite of conflict – that you pursue things aerodynamically with a lot of enthusiasm,” she explained. “There is a wonderful harmony when you feel that what you are pursuing is consistent with your values and interests and consistent with the way you spend your time. And that’s what I find in very courageous people.”
When it involves achieving happiness, a way of purpose could also be more essential than material wealth. “What really motivates people? Honestly, it’s more important than money,” Duckworth said. “It’s about being useful and being valued by other people.”
There is more. Persistent people will not be only happier, but additionally they rating high on other virtues. “There is a positive connection between courage and kindness, gratitude, empathy, curiosity and more,” she said. “These things are positively correlated, but they are not exactly the same. Therefore, we should remember the importance of ethics and other people.”
Beyond individual performance
Grit isn’t developed in isolation, but in a context. And culture is an important element of this process, based on Duckworth. Shared beliefs, values and rituals at national, local and family levels can contribute to this. Without the appropriate environment, sand alone is probably not enough.
So if you need to be more determined, more humble, or anything, you must discover a place where that’s more of the norm. “If you find yourself in a culture where you’re constantly going against the grain, where you’re constantly trying to be something that no one else cares about, no one else embodies, you’re going to get very tired,” she said. “And then, at some point, the current takes you away.”
This aspect of courage presents a challenge for leaders. Organizational cultures can discourage resentment and encourage toxic behaviors. In her book, Duckworth describes corporate cultures that valued “talent” above all else. Narcissists tended to succeed on the expense of their more humble and steadfast counterparts, whose qualities were more more likely to correlate with long-term success. This often led to dysfunctional workplaces and even company failure.
The lesson here is that many firms could also be in search of the fallacious qualities when recruiting their staff. Duckworth’s examination of an intensive first summer program on the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is insightful on this regard. West Point leaders valued “talent” aspects corresponding to test scores and athletic achievements more highly than more courageous qualities. But Duckworth found that talent had virtually no connection as to whether a cadet was successful in that summer program. However, grit had greater predictive value.
Unfortunately, there isn’t any standardized aptitude test, so employers must take a more in-depth take a look at applicants’ careers and achievements. “In a high-stakes environment like recruiting,” she said, “I think looking at someone’s resume is the best idea at this point.”
Duckworth recommends that hiring managers search for candidates who’ve accomplished multi-year commitments, show potential for advancement, and have shown passion and persistence in pursuing long-term goals.
Of course, a courageous culture isn’t an antidote to toxic behavior. “It is possible to be very, very brave and maintain ethics,” she said. “It’s possible to be very, very gritty and completely unethical.”
This is why emphasizing ethics is incredibly essential. Whatever style of team is built, the main target should be on the next goal.
“Everything ultimately has to serve an ethical purpose,” she said.
Koda
Our talent bias intersects with one other of our biases: ageism. While many individuals imagine that older individuals are less adaptable, flexible, modern and artistic, Duckworth’s research and private observations tell a really different story.
“No matter how old you are, where you are or who you are, you can change,” she said. “You can improve.” She cites the instance of Daniel Kahneman, who won a Nobel Prize in economics for his groundbreaking work on behavioral finance. Even in his 80s, he still passionately pursues latest interests.
“Danny Kahneman loves research just as much as he did as a young man and he works just as hard as he ever did,” she said. “And it’s voluntary.”
If age hasn’t stopped Kahneman, it shouldn’t stop us either.
“There is no time/date stamp to indicate when the sand is used up or when it is not age appropriate,” she said. “I think it’s a wonderful way to live your life.”
If you enjoyed this post, remember to subscribe.
