Grit
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I have recently encountered the work of Angela Duckworth on what she calls grit -- perseverance and passion for long-term goals. While the video above is simply a teaser, her book: "Grit -- The Power of Passion and Perseverance", - is a much more worthwhile opus to discuss.
There is a lot NOT to like about the book:
- the author relies much more heavily on personal anecdotes rather than hard research data,
- there are way too many stories that make use of correlation data left hanging without explicitly pointing out that correlation is not the same as causation,
- she retells a large body of research work in very much layman's terms and offers her own opinion on it, unsubstantiated by any kind of testing,
- finally, as every single social psychology work, her work suffers from the "doh" effect once it is presented.
However, if you treat this book not as a scientific paper being submitted to a conference or a journal, but as an explanation guide written for the masses, there is a lot it can offer.
I believe, this book can be the right book for the moment. Whether you are down from a recent failure, stuck not making progress for a while, becoming disillusioned by whether this is really all there is to life and to yourself, this book offers an excellent guide to go back to the drawing board and figure out what's important, to put together your goals, to figure out how to challenge yourself and measure progress, to become inspired by others' successes. The book talks about how IQ is not set, how talent is not the most important characteristic, and how putting in hours towards the goals bring satisfaction and meaning to your life long-term.
In addition to the concept of 'grit', the author summarizes a large body of other work: the concept of flow, growth mindset, etc, becoming an excellent starting point to exploring those adjacent areas as well. I also really liked the multi-dimensional approach to the concept: from how to develop it yourself, to how to instill it in children, to how to inspire it within organizations. It is definitely a book packed with information, that you don't only read once, but go back to reread parts of over and over again.
Lastly, it is exceptionally evident how much the author loves her work, lives and breathes it, and that is an inspiration on its own.
As I was reading this book, I found myself mentally compiling the list of people I'd like to give it to. I hope it will benefit you as well.