Grit: Passion, Perseverance, and the Science of Success

A fascinating exploration of Grit. There's even a Grit questionnaire to assess how gritty you are. I'm moderately gritty BTW - happily mediocre. I'm aware I could be grittier and resolve to do so, but then I've already moved on to the next book.

I like the idea though. It seems like a hearty admonishment of work and stick-to-it-ness that appeals to my Asian upbringing - Duckworth herself is raised by Chinese immigrants. It's resonated far more than the conversing with your creativity ala Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic or Brené Brown's focus on shame and our own imperfections. And like all the best pop-psych books there's lots of anecdotes from folks at the top of their game. Truly gritty paragons.

And it's reassuring for those of us lacking natural talents or long past the age to ever be considered a prodigy of anything. That through focused effort and perseverance we can excel. An extension of Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours. Perseverance and passion - perhaps distilled down to this it's nothing new but nonetheless an engrossing read that got me thinking of where I could be grittier and how to raise grittier kids.