Question

Duckworth defines grit as “passion and perseverance for long-term goals.” Describe an actual example of grit from your own life or the life of someone you know personally. (Make sure to include what the person was passionate about and how perseverance was demonstrated.) In the article, Duckworth explains that in some situations, quitting can be the best choice, because “your energy will be better spent on a different low-level goal that accomplishes the same end.” From your own life or the life of someone you know personally, share an example of when quitting or changing direction was a good decision.

Answer 1

Describe an actual example of grit from your own life or the life of someone you know personally.

I believe both passion and perseverance are necessary to achieve long-term goals. Passion is important because unless you are passionate about what you do, you are not going to enjoy it no matter how hard you try. Perseverance is important because you cannot achieve your goal if you give up too soon. You need to have strong determination to succeed. An example from my life would be how I succeeded at my job with mere grit. I started my job at a very difficult time of my life when I had lost a person very close to me. I started working not for money but to keep myself occupied. Being alone with my thoughts was impossible. I thought I was not as strong as I had imagined myself to be. People told me getting a job would make it worse as I would not be able to concentrate, and thus fail miserably at it. Although I knew I was not at my best, I was also well aware of my tenacious grit. So I took up the job of an Author, which involved a lot of thinking along with writing. As passionate as I was, I wouldn’t say I immediately excelled at my job, but I was glad I had something to do that helps keep myself from losing my sanity. I have always wanted to be a writer, so how could I let myself fail at something that I was so passionate about? I did not overwork, but I worked hard—hard enough to get recognized as one of the best Authors in the organization. Soon, I got a promotion, and everyone was praising me for my work. I experienced the feeling of happiness after a long time. With my grit, I proved some people wrong—especially those who wanted me to sulk in my sadness rather than get out and live my dream. Months later, people still kept telling me to quit being a writer and do something big, but I persevered with my job. I believe that my passion for writing and my perseverance is what keeps me going till today.

Share an example of when quitting or changing direction was a good decision.

As I mentioned above, I started looking for a job when I was going through a difficult time in my life. A few months before this, I gave up a job offer at a top IT firm because I did not want to spend my life doing computer programming. It was not what I was passionate about. I was a Science graduate, and it was obvious for people to assume I would do some job related to this field. But when I told my parents I did not want to take up the job offer, they were very supportive of my decision. My father always told me to follow my passion because, in that way, I would never feel burdened with my job. So I changed directions and succeeded in the new direction I chose. I strongly believe that changing directions can be good because it helps you discover where your true passion lies. It shows that you are a person who is not afraid to try new things. After all, what is life without some adventure to accompany your grit?