got grit?

The hubby's away on business, and the daughter is fast asleep. I should be in bed, but can't seem to keep my eyes closed for more than a few seconds. So, I thought I'd pass some time online and watch a few TEDTalks to stimulate my brain. I revisited one particular TEDTalk presented by Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth called "The Key to Success? Grit" - the first time I watched this was during one of our earlier staff meetings at the high school I teach at. Watching it through a second time, I came to appreciate it more; specifically this quote:

"Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and years, working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint."

And then - just as the "AHA!" light bulb of brilliance switches on in my head, she immediately brings it back to earth and presents the following dilemma: How does one teach someone how to build grit?

This is definitely something that I've continually struggled with in my profession - especially when we currently live in a world where everything has become so "easy access", that we often forget or take our own ability to learn and achieve "the hard way" for granted; sometimes to the point where not necessarily just students, but even adults are so quick to give up and lose that sense of true grit and really work towards something.

As an educator, one of the most disheartening things I've encountered is a student with so much potential to succeed, become disengaged, complacent, stagnant, and develop a defeatist attitude when the "easy way" doesn't work out to their advantage. What ever happened to gumption? Allowing one's setbacks to hold him/her accountable, and take ownership for his/her own learning? Maybe we all need to experience more setbacks and experience failures, and less coddling and hand-holding to allow ourselves to better stand on their own two feet and fend for ourselves. Perhaps we need to help this generation develop more of a Barney Stinson attitude that shouts out "Challenge Accepted" (sans all the promiscuity, of course) at every obstacle presented and put in the blood, sweat, and tears to make our lives more "Legen ... wait for it ... dary!" than well... anything less than that.

When I was in high school, mainly the reason why I aimed to succeed was due to the desire of proving people were wrong when they said I couldn't do something or wasn't good enough. In university, I vividly remember taking a literature course where one of the professors literally held up one of my essays and ripped it up into shreds in front of my eyes, because he thought I was capable of more than just "fluff". Sure, my ego was bruised afterwards, but those experiences made me become a more proficient writer, student, and person overall.

Dr. Duckworth goes on to discuss the concept of "growth mindset" - the belief that the ability to learn is not fixed, that it can change with your effort. There just needs to be more genuine effort in all of us. I believe that there can be joy in failure, as long as we prevent it from consuming us and letting the negativity surrounding that word dwell in our own mindset. As Dr. Duckworth points out, "failure is not a permanent condition" - and this is what this current generation needs to hear more of and experience for themselves.