What grit is

Duckworth, a psychologist, set out to understand why some people achieve far more than others of similar talent. She defines grit as a combination of passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.

At the West Point military academy, new cadets face a gruelling first summer known as Beast Barracks. The academy’s own admissions score did not predict well who would drop out. Duckworth’s short questionnaire, the Grit Scale, did better. She found similar patterns among spelling bee finalists and salespeople.