What is it? Do you have it and why it matters!
By Stephanie Martin, President
grit
(n.) | grit |
Strength of mind or spirit. It is a non-cognitive trait based on perseverance of effort combined with one’s passion for achieving long-term goals.
– Merriam-Webster
Try thinking of it as hardiness, pluck, guts, and/or spunk.
After years of studying grit as a personality trait, Dr. Angela Duckworth, observed that individuals who ranked high in grit were able to persevere over time despite being faced with adversity or misfortune. In fact, it can be concluded that grit is a better predictor of achievement than intellectual talent (IQ). This is in part due to the fact that grit functions as guiding factor for endurance despite challenges and obstacles.
Unlike many traditional measures of success, grit is not tied to intelligence, luck, or talent. However, Duckworth thinks grit is a huge contributor to completing college. Grit is a supportive attribute when it comes to challenging experiences and college is often a challenging experience. According to research, individuals who obtain an associate’s degrees are, on average, more hardy/gritty than those who get bachelor’s degrees.
What we know about our CLE students is that, not only have many of them faced a lifetime worth of obstacles, they are also pursuing higher education degrees in a community college setting. They are fully immersed in a challenging experience that proves failure is not a permanent condition. Does this make our students rank higher on the grit scale? In my opinion, the answer is yes!
Grit can be taught and learned. More importantly, it is contagious. CLE students continuously “show up” and stick to it. They model that grit is a trait that pushes them towards achieving their individual goals and independence. As we continue to evolve in supporting CLE students, let’s make sure we provide ongoing opportunities to further develop grit. Caroline Adams Miller, a Maryland author and speaker reminds us:
