Grit - Angela Duckwroth

 

Overall what I got from the book is that don't sleep on effort and perseverance. A lot of the time we see someone really good at a craft and we say they are a natural. This is actually a phrase that we use to allow us to not compare ourselves to them cause how could we ever be as good as a natural and this also reduces the amount of time and effort that that individual has put into their craft. Her main emphasis is that perseverance/effort continually can get you a lot further than you originally thought. A lot of the top people in every craft are of course good but it's because they have been working on their craft for years and years and years. I think another main thing that I took is how to foster or grow grit in your kids or in others. Basically I think it can be summed up as you want to be 'warm, respectful but demanding' and you should should encourage your kids to join extracurricular activates and once they join don't let them quit until it's over. 

Anther topic she points out which I already feel strongly about is that if it's your passion then you'll have an easier time pursuing it. If you enjoy something then doing for 30 years isn't as bad as if it was something you don't like. I agree with her completely and I reflected heavily on my current career. I have a job but it's more of a means to an end which allows me to pursue what I really enjoy. One could argue I should quit and pursue what I enjoy even if it doesn't offer such fruit or one could argue it's net positive as it allows me a great life. I'm not really sure but I think it's a good thought to have.

Overall I think it's a good book and is encouraging that effort can get you places where you originally think you didn't stand a chance. It also highlights a lot about sticking to things even if it's tough or even if it may not be the best that having the mentality of seeing things through is positive. 

I think my only gripe is that people are born with natural skills, i'm a lot more hand eye coordinated than others so if I wanted to pick something with hand eye coordination I feel that I would have a easier transition into the field which would have a quicker feedback loop and positive reinforcement that would help me succeed than say someone that has really poor hand eye coordination. Her argument to this is that with my natural ability if I don't work as hard and the person with no natural ability works diligently eventually he will surpass me. While this may be true I think in practicality it's unlikely since the person will have such a hard to getting to a spot where they feel confident. 

Decent book!