[manyxcxi]

Funny, I just happened to listen to the Freakonomics podcast with Angela Duckworth on it this morning... It also goes into a better definition of grit, why they measure what they measure, etc.

Grit basically boils down to (me paraphrasing the author paraphrasing her work) interest in the subject, finding meaning in it that can help you get through troughs of despair, a positive outlook that you can get better with effort, and an ability to find nuance in the activity so that instead of jumping to the next new subject you can focus on a specific subset of the thing you're trying to get better at, leveling up if you will.

What I took from what she said is that anyone can be gritty at anything if they want to be, but you have to ACTUALLY want it, not just say you do. Grit, the way she describes it just seems to be a roll up of a lot of values we (at least I) intuitively have always felt were important for being able to get better at something.

I always knew I was better at certain things because I liked doing them more than other and not the other way around because I was naturally very good at some things that I just didn't like and never got any better (golf). There were some things I liked and got very good at that initially I was horrible at (archery).

I think the thing that people who don't feel gritty (I have always been described as someone who is, which I think has made me grittier all around, just to reaffirm it) can get from this is that grit isn't necessarily something you are born with and it doesn't necessarily apply to all of life. it's also something you can foster and work on- but you have to be honest about how you're applying it.

[Joof]

So what happens when you have grit for things that you don't have access to, but not the things that you do have access to? Blocked by a lack of opportunity in the things that you love.

[manyxcxi]

Well, maybe that's part of why some people seem to always move from thing to thing and never seem to succeed or finish.

Maybe you find something that is mentally/emotionally close enough.

Maybe if you're 'naturally' grittier you make do with what you do have an opportunity for without even knowing you're making due.

I personally, have been pretty good in my life about seeing things through to the end (or a certain level of competency) and trying my hardest at it.

My dad, when I was young said something along the lines of "the things you like doing the least you should make sure you do the best so you don't have to do it again" and I've always kind of run with it. I also have a lot of very different interests sports, electronics, music, science- so maybe because of my wife array of baseline interest I can get over the initial humps that would have people quitting earlier? No clue, maybe I'm just lucky to be kinda/sorta okay at things enough to get initial positive feedback to make me want to do more.

What I gained from what the author found was that anyone who really wants to, and takes a practical approach to learning/gaining competency in something can and there are some general steps that can be followed along the way to keep the positive feedback loop going. You won't necessarily ever become Mozart or Lebron James, but you can entertain the family on the piano or be a helluva free throw shooter if you actually want.