Putting Things in Perspective

I just finished watching a Ted Talk by Angela Lee Duckworth.  In her allotted six minutes, she discussed how perseverance and determination are more successful roads to success than mere IQ.  So far, I have found this idea to be true in my college classes.  My math professor gave out homework last week saying she would give more points to students who got the wrong answer but showed their work and would take away points from students who only wrote out the answers, even if they were right.  I was taken aback that I could actually get a better grade by working on a problem but not getting the right answer, than I could if I just wrote down all the correct answers.   Suddenly, I sat higher in my seat.  "I think I'm going to do really well in this course," I thought.  "Not because I'm a math whiz (I'm not), but because I have the determination to work through the problems and give them my best effort."  I think this is what Duckworth was saying in her Ted Talk.  You don't have to be the smartest kid in class to be a successful student.  You just have to be determined.  (Or "gritty" as she puts it.)

So what exactly is grit?   Grit, according to Angela Lee Duckworth is, "passion and perseverance for very long term goals.  Grit is having stamina.  Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality."  Then she sums it all up, "Grit is living life like its a marathon, not a sprint."  (03:02-03:27)  This is my favorite part of the whole video and I think the most significant.  This talk changed my perception of college.  I realized I had been living week to week instead of thinking about the broader picture.  I'm hear at TLU not just to get good grades, but to graduate with a degree so I can start a meaningful career.  I'm working towards a bigger goal than getting an "A" on my math homework.  This change of view puts things in perspective.  The fatigue and stress I'm feeling seems smaller now when I think of my future in terms of years instead of days.  Now I have a broader mission in my mind.  It was always there, but this talk helped bring it forward, something I need as my third daunting week approaches.  This video inspires me to see things from a different point of view, and motivates me to put a little more "grit" in my life.  I am passionate enough about starting a career that allows me to do what I love every day, and I hope I am persevering enough to get myself there.  

Duckworth, Angela Lee. Angela Lee Duckworth: The Key to Success? Grit. Ted: 

     Ideas worth Spreading. TED Conferences, 1984. Web. 7 Sept. 2013. 
     <http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit.html>.