Grit’s Corollary

I’ve been reading Grit by Angela Duckworth. I’m not even a third of the way through this revolutionary book, and I already have so many thoughts and reflections and life connections. One of her philosophies is that grit is composed of passion and perseverance. I see these two qualities play out every day in myself and in others, and Dr. Duckworth aptly named them. After applying her philosophies to my own observations, I conceptualized a corollary philosophy.

Think of each of your endeavors as a dynamic vector in space. The direction is determined by the identity of the endeavor. The magnitude is determined by the degree of your obsession with this passion. Both direction and magnitude make up what Dr. Duckworth calls passion. Now, let’s add time as a dimension. The longer a vector is able to maintain a certain magnitude and direction, the more perseverant it is. In the end, each person is made up of a constantly-changing vector field of pursuits. Some, the most successful, are able to maintain one or two vectors with considerable magnitude and for a considerable period of time. Others might experience several short-lived bursts in different vectors, often pointing in different directions.

Application to myself

I’ll use the example of research as it is one of my main endeavors. Of course, anyone who gets into research will tell you they do it to contribute to science, to push the boundaries of what we know, to be part of something bigger than themselves. And that’s true. It is exciting to see your work build off someone else’s in Ohio or across the globe in China, to participate in this grand, interconnected web of discovery.

But the real question isn’t “Why do you do research?” The real question is “Why do you keep doing research?” Because let’s be honest, research is hard. It’s frustrating. It’s full of dead ends and wrong turns and moments where you want to throw your hands up and walk away. So why come back? For me, it’s the feeling when I finally understand or finally discover.

It’s the perseverance.

I think I’ve stumbled onto something here: people are always attracted to something – or someone – by its qualities, independent of the observer. But staying interested in a subject, or making a friendship or relationship last? That depends entirely on how that thing or person makes you feel, day in and day out, and how much you’re willing to persist. We can be drawn to medicine by the nobility of healing, to teaching by the importance of education, or to art by the beauty of creation. But only some stay because everyone feels a different amount of satisfaction from each pursuit’s rewards. One may feel immense fulfillment to heal someone, but another feels more joy to watch a student’s eyes light up with understanding.

A little quiz for yourself:

1. Do you get career satisfaction?
2. Do you feel appreciated by someone?
3. Do you leave each interaction feeling a little more alive?

If you answer no to any of these, it’s OK to let go. If yes, don’t lose it. Life is all about finding the best fit and sticking with it.