High-Achievers Are Gritty
High achieving people have one thing in common. They are gritty. But what does it mean to be gritty?
- Why Not How
- Long-run Not Short-run
- Effort X Effort
First of all, gritty people are focused on why instead of how. This is how gritty people are not stubborn people. Gritty people are gritty on why they do things whereas stubborn people are stubborn on how they do them. For example, stubborn people might focus on writing books or becoming a teacher. But gritty people focus on helping others learn and contribute knowledge. So think about what you focus on. Do you focus on the how of doing things? Or are you more concerned about the why?
Second, gritty people know how to self-discipline their short-run gains in order to achieve the long-run gains. They ask, “Will this be good for me in the long run or in the short run?” Eating this candy right now would be good for me in the short run, but eating this apple would be good for me in the long run. I will discipline myself to choose the apple now. Gritty people do that. How? By being passionate about your long-term future goals rather than the short-term goals. Be passionate about your future self in 5 years. Or ask yourself if you are still passionate about your dream 5 years ago.
Third, gritty people put in more effort which in turn results in higher achievements. Angela Duckworth once came up with a formula for high achievement.
High Skill + High Accumulate Efforts = High Achievement
Skill = Talent + Effort
Therefore, the final formula then looks like this:
Talent + Effort + Effort = High Achievement
Conclusion
High-achievers are gritty on the why instead of the how. They are not bogged down by smaller details. High-achievers are able to discipline themselves to forego their short run gains for their long run gains. And high-achievers put in extraordinary effort so they can have the result they desire.
