Granny Grows Grit

Granny Grows Grit

When Angela Duckworth wrote Grit, she wasn’t thinking about us alter cockers (that means old farts for the uninitiated). Her research focused on kids, students, athletes, entrepreneurs — people preparing to build a future.

What about those of us who have more years behind us than ahead? I don’t know about you, but I need grit now more than ever.

WHAT IS GRIT?

According to Duckworth, grit is having “a goal you care about so much that it organizes and gives meaning to almost everything you do. And grit is holding steadfast to that goal. Even when you fall down. Even when you screw up.”

We live in a time when we can stay glued to our recliners and screens all day, our bills auto-paid and our retirement checks direct-deposited. And my cohorts and I are at an age when leaving bed can mean fatigue or pain or require the aid of a cane, walker, or wheelchair. All the more reason to have something meaningful to push us forward. Enter GRIT.

I took Duckworth’s online grit self-assessment (link here) and scored low — only 20% scored lower than me. Duckworth warns that self-assessments are subjective, and I may judge myself more harshly than others would. Still, it fit: I endured over 45 years in office jobs that made me miserable because I lacked the grit to change my situation.

For much of my life, I believed talent was everything. Now I know better. As Duckworth points out, “Without effort, your talent is nothing more than your unmet potential.” She even reduces her theory to two equations:

     Talent x Effort = Skill

     Skill x Effort = Achievement

I was quick in school but slow to apply myself in life. I didn’t understand that hard work and stepping outside my comfort zone were necessities — and wouldn’t kill me, as I was convinced.

BUILDING GRIT

The good news: grit can be improved. Duckworth suggests that parents apply the “hard thing rule” — something you can’t quit until the commitment period ends — to their children. I chose to apply it to myself: complete a full term of college, majoring in liberal arts. There was even a side benefit: keeping my brain sharp. The possibility of dementia is one of my biggest fears.

I showed up. To class after class after class. Time management was brutal — when could I sit comatose in front of the TV? (No worries; I found a way.)

Sustained effort without quitting was all but unheard of for me, and finishing the term was a victory. Still, I realized I’d chosen too easy a path. Reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic come naturally to me. I had found a loophole in my own hard thing rule.

If I wanted to build grit, I need a daunting major. I’m an actor, but I had never touched the “other side” of TV or movies: the lenses, lighting, cables, control boards. It was intimidating. I couldn’t see myself doing it — so I did it. I changed my major to digital film.

Surprise: I survived my second term and am now in summer school because an object in motion tends to stay in motion!

HEALTH GRIT?

Could I apply this embryonic grit to my health? My health habits ebb and flow, and my passion for it has been “Meh” at best. Duckworth says passion begins with “a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and then a lifetime of deepening.” I needed a “hard thing” to develop my passion, so I decided to redefine myself as an athlete — specifically, a thrower. A shot putter.

I’ve started training for the NJ Senior Olympics which will be held in September 2025. Whether shot put becomes a long-term passion remains to be seen, but I’m all in for September.

What does it take to be an athlete? Calling yourself one. What does it take to be taken seriously? Grit.

When you see me in the throwing circle, just call me Granny Grit. And step back a little.