by Angela Duckworth
I hate the word “passion”. It is overused to describe our interests and pursuits. Passion sounds like devotion to an interest, but as often as people switch from one “passion” to another I question that devotion. I might replace “passion” with “purpose”, “vision” or “single-mindedness.” So, I hold that against this book.
Ok, with my puny criticism out of the way, this book is excellent.
I’ll admit, I’ve avoided this book even though I’ve known about it for many years. My reasoning goes like this, “Sure we all need grit. It is a useful attribute, but why should I read a whole book about it when I’m a person who has quit often and jumped from interest to interest?” I wasn’t thrilled about being condemned by this book.
I was wrong. Angela Duckworth provides the psychological background behind, not just grit, but interests, finding purpose, deep practice, resilience, and hope. Her research-backed explanations of these concepts provide plenty of psychological ammo to get your mind to stand down when it bombards you with excuse after excuse why you cannot progress on your goals.
The book did accurately describe my lack of grit.
In. Great. Detail.
But it also provided actionable information to get grittier.
The chapter on parenting for grit is a must read for anyone who has charge over young minds: coaches, teachers, professors, and parents. It reveals which parenting method research has shown trumps all others. Turns out this method works, even if the parents have very little grit themselves.
The chapter on interests, purpose, and yes, passion is the best I’ve read on the subject. Famous and successful people admonish the rest of us to “follow our passion”, a common refrain in commencement speeches. But Duckworth wisely points out that a large percentage of graduates have not yet found their passion. Hard to pursue what you can’t find. She pushes past the superficial message and provides ways to find our passion. Our purpose, our life‘s work is less often found by epiphany, as it is nurtured and grown out of the things that start as mere interests.
Finally, the chapter on hope is priceless. Hope pushes us through difficulty, but can you define it right now in a way that is meaningful to you? If you have difficulty defining it, you’ll have similar difficulty obtaining it. This book will help you make sense out of the word “hope”.
Buy it, try it, says the man without grit.
Interesting, mind-opening, great in audio format, great if you are looking for your purpose
Book: paperback 368 pages
Audiobook: 9 hours and 22 minutes
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