The myths surrounding Grit and Mindset
Angela Duckworth & Carol Dweck, both highly intelligent psychology professors, have developed a shared interest recently: success. In particular, why students succeed and not give up in their pursuits. Both authors write about similar theories in their books Grit & Mindsets. Duckworth says that students have to be “gritty”, persistent and committed for long term goals. Dweck believes success comes from people who are “growth-minded” and think they can always do better. Both women believe that talent has little to do with success and that the only thing that matters is effort. Despite how nice both theories seem, there are flaws in them. Although both theories seem reasonable, they do not always work.
For many reasons, the concept of grit is attractive to most people. One reason is that they are still relatively new concepts. People love to test them out and see if they work. A second benefit is that success can finally be named. The frustration of not being able explain why some students are more successful than others is understandable. However, the ability to attribute success to someone who is more grittier or with a different mindset from a fixed mind is also a very nice thing to have. But that doesn’t mean they are all applicable. In her book Mindsets Carol Dweck says that those who have a growth-mindset “could transform failure into a blessing” (Dweck 4) She says that students with a growth mindset are constantly learning and their intelligence cannot be measured by a grade. She is wrong. American schools, which are the most receptive to ideas like mindsets and grit – do not subscribe to this. The GPA of each student sums them up. In order to avoid a student having to redo an assignment or test they failed, we grade them with a “F” instead of using the ‘Not there yet’ (Mizerny Par 7). This practice discourages students from having a growth mentality to try again. It instead focuses on their intelligence, and sets them up for failure. Also, schools “encourage speed rather than collaboration and thoughtfulness” (Mizerny 10). Students are expected to get it right on the first try, rather than being allowed to make multiple attempts in order to learn and grow. Dweck states that “you can alter your mindset”, however, it’s nearly impossible when you don’t allow yourself to even try again.
Dweck and Duckworth both believe that effort is more important than talent. Duckworth’s novel’s thesis is “talent cannot guarantee grit”, so “what really matters is grit.” She argues that we all can be Olympic-level athletes if “we put our mind to it” (Mizerny, par 23). Perseverance can only be a success if it is accompanied by encouragement. Duckworth writes in her novel that “aptitude was not a guarantee of success” but effort without skills is also not able to guarantee success (Duckworth, 17). Media is filled with examples of musicians, actors and other successful people who achieved their success more through talent than by effort. It is unrealistic to think that anyone who works hard enough can achieve whatever they want. It does not, however, mean that efforts are ineffective. It’s harder to be successful without effort.
It’s impossible to determine if someone will be successful or not based on their perseverance when faced with failure. People with growth mindsets may lack grit. For instance, they might think they can improve, but fail to act. A fixed mindset may believe that they are incapable of improving after a failure, but still have the grit necessary to succeed. It takes more than a positive attitude and the ability to accept failure. Like anything else, there are many factors that can affect success. You would have consider all aspects of someone’s life to be able to predict their success. Even then, this is still a guess. Grit, growth and fixed mindsets do not determine success.
While Angela Duckworth, Carol Dweck and other authors make interesting points about mindsets and grit in their books, the theories they present are not as accurate as you might expect. It is not possible to teach success, and everyone wants it. You can only do what you can. A person’s grit or growth mindset may help them achieve greatness one day, but neither is a guarantee.