What We're Reading Now

Building Grit

15 July 2025

Janie read Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth and found newfound motivation and encouragement in the stories and actionable takeaways.  

Tags: courage, dan pink, janie read, mindset

I’ve written many times over the years about my love for Dan Pink. In a recent newsletter, Pink shared a list of “21 life-changing books” that he said sharpened his thinking and expanded his mind. I was keen to hear his recommendations and Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth stood out to me right away. Duckworth’s premise is that what really drives success isn’t brilliance, it’s grit. That mix of passion and perseverance that helps people stay the course, even when things get hard or boring or messy (and let’s be honest, they usually do). I know from reading Carol Dweck that success is about much more than innate talent and that having the right mindset is critical. Reading Grit reinforced this idea and helped give me renewed motivation to keep pushing and not give up or second guess my abilities, especially when I’m frustrated or when something doesn’t come naturally to me.

There are many excellent stories in the book. One that I really loved was about West Point cadets. Every year, the U.S. Military Academy tries to predict who will survive their brutal first summer, a challenge known as "Beast Barracks." You’d think that physical fitness scores or perhaps IQ would tell you who’s most likely to make it through this—but those scores don’t predict anything. Duckworth found that the best predictor was something she named the Grit Score. The grittier the cadet, the more likely they were to push through. I think this example resonated with me so much because my maternal grandfather was a Navy Captain and although he didn’t go through West Point, he had similar experiences, and I really admired his ability to keep pushing and the ways he always persevered through challenges.

Reading this example and many others in the book made me think, when things get tough, what helps me stick with it? How can I make changes that will help me to be grittier? One of the themes that was most interesting to me was a concept that Duckworth termed deliberate practice, which is essentially practicing something new with mindful attention and curiosity. Terry Laughlin, a former Olympic swimming coach that Duckworth interviewed said, “Deliberate practice can feel wonderful. If you try, you can learn to embrace challenge rather than fear it…It’s all about in-the-moment self-awareness without judgment.” I realized that for me, the idea of “without judgement” is the key. I’m my own worst critic and am outstanding at pointing out all the places where I think something isn’t good enough. In another interview, Duckworth spoke with Susan Mackie, a coach who works with CEOs and encourages them to give a name to their inner critic. For example, when it starts talking too loudly, she says “Oops, I guess I brought controlling Claire today.” I loved this idea and immediately came up with “judgmental Janie” as the name for my own inner critic.

I picked up this book because I want to be grittier and I wasn’t disappointed. Duckworth’s research and interviews inspired me to push harder when I am frustrated and gave lots of suggestions for becoming grittier. I’m starting by focusing on these two suggestions.

• Routines can be extremely helpful when it comes to doing something hard.
  I’ve been experimenting with making myself do my least favorite task first thing in my day, so that I get whatever it is out of the way and don’t procrastinate. I’ve found that it really helps push me to get things done. Often once I start something, that’s all the motivation I need to complete it, but if I push it off and let myself procrastinate starting, it’s that much easier for me to keep pushing it off.
• Embrace challenge with deliberate practice and without judgement.
  I am working on not just getting the task done—but pushing myself to ask for feedback so I can keep improving and building my skills. I’m also not letting myself listen to “judgmental Janie” when she shows up and tells me there’s no point in trying to get better. When my inner critic starts talking, I say, “No one asked for your opinion, judgmental Janie.” This is working to help me shut that voice down and keep pushing forward.

Through the numerous interviews and studies shared, Duckworth convinced me that grit is something you can build one stubborn step at a time and it’s never too late to start. I’ve always been stubborn, and I like the idea of using it to my advantage instead of my detriment. If you’re also interested in being grittier, reach out to me! I’d love to have an accountability partner.

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