When understanding character education and how a character is built, one of the key words that should be mentioned is grit. A person with true grit has passion and perseverance. Goals are set and followed through. A person who works hard to follow through on commitments has true grit. Unfortunately, it is not a word you hear very often.

When teaching youth what a solid work ethic is, the word grit should be used. As stated above, a person with true grit follows through, works hard at their goals to achieve them, and is someone who you want to have around—either in school as a friend or as a coworker. Even if you are assigned to work with someone on a project, and you know that person has a strong work ethic, the project will get done.

Grit is the ability to persist in something you feel passionate about and persevere when you face obstacles. This kind of passion is not about intense emotions or infatuation. It’s about having direction and commitment. When you have this kind of passion, you can stay committed to a task that may be difficult or boring. 

Grit is also about perseverance. To persevere means to stick with it; to continue working hard even after experiencing difficulty or failure.

The concept of grit has captured the public imagination. Angela Duckworth’s 2013 TED talk introduced grit to a broad audience and described it as a significant predictor of future success; the talk resonated with audiences, as it has over 14 million views to date. Her subsequent 2016 book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, became an international best-seller.

Grit has also crept into educational policy throughout the World, influencing school curriculums’ design to boost their future success by making students “grittier”. These developments are seemingly occurring for a good reason: prior studies have found that grit relates to several intermediaries of success, including increased deliberate practice, sustained retention under challenging jobs, and task persistence.

In Margaret M. Perlis’s article, “5 Characteristics of Grit—How Many Do You Have?” she explores the five areas of grit:

- Courage

- Conscientiousness: Achievement-oriented versus dependable

- Long-term goals and endurance: Follow through

- Resilience: Optimism, confidence, and creativity

- Excellence versus perfection

Perlis states that while a critical component of grit is resilience, resilience is the powering mechanism that draws your head up, moves you forward, and helps you persevere despite whatever obstacles you face along the way. When she asked a group of teachers what has changed regarding kids’ character, in unison, they said “grit”—or more specifically, lack thereof. There seems to be growing concern among teachers that kids these days are growing soft.

Why is grit important?

I’m going to say it again because it’s worth repeating and goes against what we’re taught in school and our social circles. Grit is essential because it is a driver of achievement and success, independent of and beyond what talent and intelligence contribute. Being naturally smart and talented are great, but to truly do well and thrive, we need the ability to persevere. Without grit, talent may be nothing more than unmet potential. It is only with effort that talent becomes a skill that leads to success (Duckworth 2016). 

Without grit, talent may be nothing more than unmet potential.

So how can we help ourselves become grittier? Not by demanding that we pull ourselves up by our bootstraps or by setting unreasonable expectations and assuming we can meet them all on our own. For us to grow grit, we need to invest in ourselves by

1. Pursue your interests. Find something that fascinates you.

2. Practice, practice, practice. Get a little bit better every day.

3. Connect to a higher purpose. Ask yourself how you are helping other people.

4. Cultivate hope. Remove your inaccurate, limiting beliefs.

5. Surround yourself with gritty people. Create positive peer pressure.

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