On Friday, I reviewed some literature and discussed the concept of "grit" (previous Workpuzzle blog). Have you thought about your own grit level? How about the grit level of your team?
Many successful people don't attribute their success to their IQ or level of talent, but rather to their tenacity. Genius Thomas Edison was one of those people. Edison once said:
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up" (Psychology Today).
Here is another prime example of grit: Poet David Baker is Director of Creative Writing at Denison University, and author of seven books of poetry, including "Midwest Eclogue." Mr. Baker laments:
"Unfortunately, no one comes in my window and whispers poems to me... Poets [have to] work hard. I may work on a single poem for weeks or months and write 60 or 70 drafts—only to decide that draft 22 was the good one" (Psychology Today).
Along these same lines, people often refer to Mozart's diaries, where he divulges that an entire symphony appeared, supposedly intact, in his head. However, Jonathan Plucker an educational psychologist at Indiana University points out:
"But no one ever quotes the next paragraph, where he talks about how he refined the work for months" (Psychology Today).
So, if you review the research I referenced in the last entry (previous Workpuzzle blog), you'll see that talent and genius are seriously overrated. Grit appears to be the vital component.
So what can we learn from this? The data shows that if we praise talent and accomplishments, we get stagnation, and even failure. However, in studies where "effort" was rewarded, the result was growth and greater success. Stick to rewarding effort in you and in others and you'll be on top of the next economic wave.
Success comes to those who work harder...
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