{"id":39522,"date":"2024-11-15T02:04:14","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T10:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=39522"},"modified":"2024-11-15T02:06:04","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T10:06:04","slug":"from-the-gridiron-to-grit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/from-the-gridiron-to-grit\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Gridiron to Grit"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we pay homage to our armed military veterans across the United States this week, the sports enthusiast in me would like to pay special tribute to the United States Army football team. They are ranked 18th<\/sup> overall in the nation in college football standings and are currently on a 14-game winning streak, the longest in the nation. The Army team is turning the heads of many college football fans as they are not the traditional extraordinary football star players who receive million-dollar NIL contracts as we see today. But what has been the difference maker for them this year? What has been the secret sauce to their success? Simple things. Consistency, dedication, perseverance, and hard work.<\/p>\n

Ironically, West Point was also the site of Angela Duckworth\u2019s research several years ago as she examined data from over 11,000 West Point in an effort to find out the difference between successful cadets and those who missed the bar. The study examined the cognitive and non-cognitive attributes that contribute to the success of those who graduated from West Point. \u201cWe conclude that non-cognitive aspects of human capital deserve greater attention from both scientists and practitioners interested in predicting real-world success.\u201d <\/em>[1]<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was these findings that fueled Duckworth to write Grit, The Power of Passion and Perseverance a book which details how passion and perseverance supplant talent. Duckworth, a former business consultant, moved from being a business consultant to becoming an inner-city teacher, ultimately landing in neuroscience. Using research as her methodology, she also uncovers how purpose plays a major factor; \u201cOn one hand, human beings seek pleasure because, by and large, the things that bring us pleasure are those things that increase our chances of survival\u2026 On the other hand, human beings have evolved to seek meaning and purpose.\u201d <\/em>[2]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Passion is also atop Duckworth\u2019s list, and gritty people must maintain a great passion for something. \u201cIt\u2019s doing what you love, but not just falling in love- staying in love.\u201d[3] <\/strong>\u00a0Grit is an excellent compliment to Mindset,<\/em> which talks about a fixed and growth mindset. A growth mindset is about working hard, believing you can accomplish your goals, and being open to receiving support and opportunities. \u201cPeople with a growth mindset don\u2019t just seek challenge, they thrive on it.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> [4] <\/strong>A gritty perspective requires people to believe that they can improve.\u00a0 An argument can be made that to possess Grit- both a fixed and growth mindset would be necessary.<\/p>\n

I also found it interesting that one of Duckworth’s takeaways centered on extracurricular activities. She points to how a non-parental adult influence can improve grit.<\/p>\n

I am reminiscent of two instances where this has proven true. The first takes me back to my athletic career and how coaches were instrumental in facilitating my personal growth and development. Recently I was on a college football recruiting visit and heard a coach share with the parents of recruits and his team. At the end of four years, we will develop your son into a better athlete but most of all a responsible young man. <\/span><\/p>\n

The second instance involves a young lady who is a high school student in my community and earned the label of a class disruptor. Her history was filled with talking back, disrupting class, and finding it necessary to have the last word. Consequently, she experienced being thrown out of class, a couple of three-day suspensions, and being on the administrative watch list. Her parents? \u00a0Some of the most rock-solid and credible people you could ever find on earth. Parental conferences and interventions were seemingly fruitless for this family until they met an educator who convinced the parents to bring their daughter to the school\u2019s debate team. Fast forward, by year’s end, she would go on to win several debate awards while reaching the honor roll with no further incidents and was a school star. When asked about her dramatic turnaround, she heaped praise on her debate coach, who taught her critical thinking, reasoning, and effective response, crediting her coach for instilling patience and perseverance into her life. <\/span>A living example of the Grit<\/em> factor.<\/p>\n

A counter perspective to Grit is offered by Harvard Graduate School Professor Jal Metha. Metha believes schools should spend less time boosting grit and more time revisiting their offerings to generate student purpose and passion. Citing the research results of motivation scholars Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. The duo argue that \u201cpeople are fundamentally seeking autonomy, competence and relatedness.\u201d <\/em>[5] <\/strong>Saying that people who maximize these qualities thrive in environments critics say if institutions place a greater emphasis on priorities students will achieve similar outcomes. \u201cIn the long run, most people do not persevere at things because they are good at persevering, they persevere because they find things that are worth investing in.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>[6]<\/strong><\/p>\n

While success is the end game for Duckworth, she also presents a realistic outcome for the road to it, stating that one must be willing to encounter and embrace failure. This is a practice I have experienced, taught, and passed down in my own leadership context, using the Heinz 57 Ketchup bottle as an example. The bottle\u2019s label 57 holds significance as it represents the 57 times Heinz tried to gain a patent but failed. As Heinz\u2019s ketchup reaches millions today, I often remind my leaders every time they taste Heinz 57 ketchup, they are tasting failure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Personally, I can see why many are raving about this book, because it does offer practical insight with research and statistics supporting Duckworth\u2019s findings. Overall, there is a message that speaks to the common person that you may not be an adept individual, but possessing this grit can be a game changer. Closer to home, I think many of us who are doctoral students can share in this same testimony that it was not always our desire to pursue a doctorate, with many of us shying away from the thought of it, but what has got us more than halfway to the finish line amidst our fears, insecurities, and life\u2019s vicissitudes is nothing other than grit itself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1] Mark Travers. \u201cScientists Look to West Point to Better Understand What It Takes to Succeed.\u201d Forbes<\/em>. Forbes Magazine, November 14, 2019. Last modified November 14, 2019. Accessed November 15, 2024. https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/traversmark\/2019\/11\/14\/scientists-look-to-west-point-to-better-understand-what-it-takes-to-succeed\/.<\/p>\n

[2] Angela Duckworth,\u00a0Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Scribner, 2016), 146,7.<\/p>\n

[3] Duckworth, 54.<\/p>\n

[4] Carol Dweck, Mindset: Changing the Way You Think to Fulfil Your Potential, (London: Robinson, 2017). 21.<\/p>\n

[5] Jal Metha, \u201cThe Problem with Grit (Opinion).\u201d Education Week<\/em>. Last modified September 24, 2024. Accessed November 15, 2024. https:\/\/www.edweek.org\/leadership\/opinion-the-problem-with-grit\/2015\/04.<\/p>\n

[6] Metha, \u201c<\/em>The Problem with Grit\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we pay homage to our armed military veterans across the United States this week, the sports enthusiast in me would like to pay special tribute to the United States Army football team. They are ranked 18th overall in the nation in college football standings and are currently on a 14-game winning streak, the longest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3371],"class_list":["post-39522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-duckworth-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/202"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39522"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39526,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39522\/revisions\/39526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}