Grit (perseverance & passion)
How steadily you pursue long-term goals — through effort and sustained focus.
Grit (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews & Kelly, 2007; Short Grit Scale, 2009) is a validated measure of perseverance and sustained passion for long-term goals, across two facets: perseverance of effort and consistency of interest. It predicts who persists in demanding settings better than talent or IQ — though it overlaps heavily with conscientiousness, and a meta-analysis (Credé, Tynan & Harms, 2017) found its edge over that trait is modest, so it is best treated as a useful lens rather than a silver bullet. (Grit Scale (Duckworth et al.))
Dimensions
- Perseverance of effort (Eases off – Pushes through) — Leaning high means you keep working hard despite setbacks and finish what you begin; leaning low means your effort tends to fade when things get difficult or slow.
- Consistency of interest (Shifts focus – Stays the course) — Leaning high means you stick with the same goals and interests over years; leaning low means new ideas and projects often pull your focus away from old ones.
References
- Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087–1101
- Duckworth, A. L., & Quinn, P. D. (2009). Development and validation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit–S). Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(2), 166–174
- Duckworth, A. L. (2016). Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Scribner
- Credé, M., Tynan, M. C., & Harms, P. D. (2017). Much ado about grit: A meta-analytic synthesis of the grit literature. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113(3), 492–511
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