[Swizec]

I believe the word you’re looking for is “grit”. Gritiness has also been shown to be the greatest predictor of success.

> Grit in psychology is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual's perseverance of effort combined with the passion for a particular long-term goal or end state (a powerful motivation to achieve an objective). This perseverance of effort promotes the overcoming of obstacles or challenges that lie on the path to accomplishment and serves as a driving force in achievement realization.

[pure-awesome]

I know you're just quoting Wikipedia here, but any idea what does "non-cognitive" mean in this context? What are some examples of cognitive and non-cognitive traits and why does grit fall into the latter category?

[michannne]

My understanding: it's behavioral, you don't need to have a certain level of intelligence to have grit

[Swizec]

It’s a character trait, not a cognitive skill. Still learnable of course, but it’s more about managing emotions than thinking.