Is it “a drag” that passions don’t come to us all at once, as epiphanies, without the need to actively develop them? Maybe. But the reality is that our early interests are fragile, vaguely defined, and in need of energetic, years-long cultivation and refinement. Sometimes, when I talk to anxious parents, I get the impression they’ve misunderstood what I mean by grit. I tell them that half of grit is perseverance—in response, I get appreciative head nods—but I also tell them that nobody works doggedly on something they don’t find intrinsically interesting. Here, heads often stop nodding and, instead, cock to the side. “Just because you love something doesn’t mean you’ll be great,” says self-proclaimed Tiger Mom Amy Chua. “Not if you don’t work. Most people stink at the things they love.” I couldn’t agree more. Even in the development of your interests, there is work—practicing, studying, learning—to be done. Still, my point is that most people stink even more at what they don’t love.
This book is the OG on the topic of grit, from Angela Duckworth who coined the concept and is the world’s leading expert on it.
We all know what grit is, and that it is the fact that is most highly correlated with financial success. In this passage, grit isn’t just something that manifests intrinsically, but it has a much better chance of showing when people are doing something they enjoy or love. Someone can be highly determined and resilient in 1 field but completely lost and lackadaisical in the other.
