🔥
🎯 Self-Regulation
How gritty are you?
Duckworth's Grit Scale — perseverance predicts success.
Rate how much each describes you: 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much).
1I finish whatever I begin, even when it gets difficult.
2New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones.
3I have achieved a goal that took years of work.
4Setbacks don't discourage me — I bounce back quickly.
5I often set a goal but later choose to pursue a different one.
6I am a hard worker — I don't give up easily.
7I am diligent and rarely change interests over months/years.
8I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge.
9I become interested in new pursuits every few months.
10I maintain focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete.
Grit: perseverance + passion
Angela Duckworth's Grit Scale (2007) measures two facets: consistency of interests and perseverance of effort. Grit predicts success better than IQ, talent, or socioeconomic status.
Score interpretation
- 10-20: Low grit — you change interests often and give up when things get hard
- 21-30: Below average — moderate perseverance
- 31-40: Above average — you stick with goals through difficulty
- 41-50: Very gritty — exceptional persistence. Top performers.
Grit research
- West Point cadets: grit predicted who survived Beast Barracks better than SAT, fitness, or leadership
- National Spelling Bee: grittier spellers practiced 2x more and advanced further
- Grit correlates with Big Five Conscientiousness (r=0.77)
- Average American grit score: 3.0 out of 5 (Duckworth 2016)
- Grit increases with age — older adults are grittier than younger ones
Sources: Duckworth et al. (2007, Grit-S), Duckworth (2016, Grit book), Eskreis-Winkler et al. (2014, West Point).