-
There is a fluency and an ease with which true mastery and expertise always expresses itself, whether it be in writing, whether it be in a mathematical proof, whether it be in a dance that you see on stage, really in every domain. But I think the question is, you know, where does that fluency and mastery come from?
Angela Duckworth -
I define talent as the rate at which you get better at something when you try. To be very talented means you get better faster and more easily than other people or other things that you try.
Angela Duckworth
-
People's lives really do turn out differently. And it certainly can't be explained by how intelligent you remember them being when they were sitting next to you in organic chemistry class.
Angela Duckworth -
Grit may carry risk because it's about putting all your eggs in one basket, to some extent.
Angela Duckworth -
I would be surprised if my girls ended up as women without grit. I really would.
Angela Duckworth -
There haven't been genetic studies on grit, but we often think that challenge is inherited but grit is learned. That's not what science says. Science says grit comes from both nature and nurture.
Angela Duckworth -
Everybody knows that effort matters. What was revelatory to me was how much it mattered.
Angela Duckworth -
I believe kids should choose what they want to do, because it's their life, but they have to choose something, and they can't quit in the middle unless there's a really good reason. There are going to be peaks and valleys. You don't want to let kids quit during a valley.
Angela Duckworth
-
It is important to realize that the process of 'fostering' a passion takes trial and error. It takes experience; you cannot do it all in your head. And it takes a long time.
Angela Duckworth -
Grit, in a word, is stamina. But it's not just stamina in your effort. It's also stamina in your direction, stamina in your interests. If you are working on different things but all of them very hard, you're not really going to get anywhere. You'll never become an expert.
Angela Duckworth -
Some people prefer a world where we're all equally talented in everything. Whether you prefer that world or not, I don't think that world exists.
Angela Duckworth -
When people tell me I can't do something, I have a visceral reflex to say, 'Yes, I can.'
Angela Duckworth -
I didn't tell my kids, 'You have to play viola, and you have to play piano.' They chose these things on their own, and I don't think we have to give kids every choice, but we do have to give them some choice because that autonomy is crucial for fostering passion.
Angela Duckworth -
Is it 'a drag' that passions don't come to us all at once, as epiphanies, without the need to actively develop them? Maybe. But the reality is that our early interests are fragile, vaguely defined, and in need of energetic, years-long cultivation and refinement.
Angela Duckworth
-
I do think that whatever ambition I may have had natively was amplified by my father's clear valuing of it. I knew that was what my dad really cared about.
Angela Duckworth -
I don't spend a lot of time thinking about my genes because I can't do anything about them.
Angela Duckworth -
You cannot will yourself to be interested in something you're not interested in. But you can actively discover and deepen your interest.
Angela Duckworth -
I do feel it's hard to be modest and humble and egoless when people are telling you you are so great and wanting to give you prizes and energy. I'm trying hard not to be an awful, narcissistic human being.
Angela Duckworth -
Nobody gets to be good at something without effort, no matter what your aptitude is.
Angela Duckworth -
Childhood is generally far too early to know what we want to be when we grow up. Longitudinal studies following thousands of people across time have shown that most people only begin to gravitate toward certain vocational interests, and away from others, around middle school.
Angela Duckworth
-
Many things matter other than our measured intelligence, so let's get to work on them.
Angela Duckworth -
What we reliably find is that people's perseverance scores are actually higher than their passion scores, and I think it really does get to the fact that working hard is hard, but maybe finding your passion is even more difficult.
Angela Duckworth -
My dad was not super-intentional in his parenting. He was very self-absorbed. I won't say mean or selfish per se, but very self-absorbed. I think he was just thinking out loud.
Angela Duckworth