From the Leadership Team

Understanding Young People and Grit

Grit is a distinct combination of passion, resilience, determination and focus that allows a person to maintain the discipline and optimism to persevere in their long term goals even in the face of discomfort, rejection, and a lack of visible progress for years, or even decades.

Many people think talent is the key to success, but one professor of psychology believes grit counts twice as much. Angela Duckworth believes this characteristic is so important, and questions why some millennials (our students) are accused of lacking it.

Bill Gates recently confessed that he finishes every book he starts reading, even if he hates it. While some people might see this as an unnecessary way to spend one's time, it could be the secret to his success.

'A bias towards finishing what you begin rather than leaving it half finished, is actually characteristic of some of the most successful people in the world,' says professor of psychology, Angela Duckworth. When she speaks to well-intentioned but stressed out parents who are trying to get their kids to Harvard at any cost, ‘they miss the other half of grit, and that's passion,' she says.

So are millennials (your children) missing their grit? Duckworth says millennials deserve a break when it comes to the criticism of their work ethic and lack of patience for career choices.

Firstly, they are growing up in a different culture to their parents. But they also need more time to grow up. 'In general, people get better [with age]—you get more emotionally stable, more conscientious, more self-controlled, more dependable,' Duckworth says. Her favourite is that you get nicer with age, wiser. And grit seems to fit the pattern.

So if you shake your head at your 16-year-old who doesn't seem to work the way you want them to, you might remember that you have twice, possibly three times as much life experience as that millennial and it may be that the problem with millennials is that they haven't grown up yet.

Duckworth has found that perseverance—hard work and resilience in the face of adversity—is the single most predictive characteristic of grit, but it's only half the equation. To have grit, you also need to find your work meaningful, important and interesting.

Students in Senior School have taken a Grit survey at the start of term to gauge where they are at. Throughout this semester they will be encouraged and sometimes challenged to develop a long term goal and to persevere.

So some tips to help foster grit and work towards long term goals.

1. Find a Passion (or at least an engaging activity)

The Duckworth family have the ‘Hard Thing Rule’, which says that every member of the family has to be working on something difficult at any given time. Each person can choose his or her ‘thing’ but it should be both interesting and require 'deliberate practice almost daily.' And everyone has to stick with his or her selected activity for a set period of time. No one is allowed to quit mid-season because things seem too hard.

2.   Recognise that frustration, confusion and practice are par for the course. Develop a growth mindset.

3.   Take risks – i.e. travel interstate for university or take a GAP year or try out for a representative team or volunteer to speak in public.

4.   Failure is not the end – success often does not come without some sort of failure and that is OK! Don’t give up.

Have Grit!

Matt Brinson, Head of Senior School