Grit and Success

Grit is a short word describing a tremendously valuable personality trait that educators and parents wish they could teach children and young adults.

What’s grit? It’s a lot of things:

It’s not giving up in the face of adversity.

It’s possessing strong moral values.

It’s having the courage to take on new challenges.

It’s the desire to do something well.

It’s putting passion into your work.

In other words, grit makes someone successful in a rapidly changing world, no matter their age, level of education, or profession.

So, that’s what grit is. But knowing what something is doesn’t mean you can do it. Not yet, anyway. In this article, we’ll look at ways you can build up the traits that define grit and prepare for a successful college application season and beyond.

Where Do I Start with Grit?

Well, there’s good news, and there’s not-so-good news.

The Not-So-Good News

The main characteristics that define grit involve picking yourself up after failing at something. Failing is an unpleasant experience, but one we’re all familiar with in one way or another. Maybe it’s struggling with personal relationships or performing poorly in school. Whatever it is, grit begins at or near the bottom.

The Good News

The good news is that when you encounter failure, you have a choice about how to react. Now, doing so is MUCH easier said than done. However, like any other skill, practice makes perfect.

Starting Small

Everyone has something they do that instills feelings of joy and frustration. Maybe it’s a video game, sport, hobby, or any other passion. The point is that you already have a starting place to begin incorporating more grit into your life.

The next time you do that activity, take a mental note of why you persisted despite negative outcomes or emotions. What is it that drives you to continue? Everyone’s answer will be unique, but whatever it is, use that information to push yourself a little bit harder next time. Your chances of failure or frustration may increase, but these experiences will allow you to practice the traits defining grit in a small and safe environment.

Applying Grit to School and Life

Okay, so you have some grit, at least when it comes to an activity you enjoy. That’s great news because you can now consider applying these positive traits to other parts of your life, namely education.

Now, if you already earn good grades, you may wonder how grit can help you. Remember that grit has a lot to do with failure and that as you start taking more advanced courses and applying to colleges, failure or frustration will occur more. And let’s not forget that many college freshmen, even those who earned top grades in high school, struggle to adapt to new academic and social expectations. Those with grit push forward and succeed.

A simple way you can apply grit to your education is by taking a proactive approach to roadblocks or problems you encounter in school. This approach starts with asking questions:

• Am I responsible for this negative outcome?
  • If so, what did I do?
• What result did I want to happen?
  • This question helps you set a future goal.
• How can I turn my goal into reality?
  • Talk to a teacher/counselor.
  • Ask for tutoring.
  • Find study materials online.

These questions also apply to issues surrounding interpersonal relationships with teachers and peers. As a teacher, I saw firsthand the relationship between perceived social acceptance and academic performance.

Improving Your Grit with myKlovr

We at myKlovr developed the first virtual college counseling service to prepare students like you to succeed in the college admissions process and beyond. Our services can also help you become a student with grit and better your college and career choices. Here’s how:

• Set goals.
  • MyKlovr allows users to set academic and personal goals. As you think about building your persistence, set 1-2 goals for the near future. If you cannot accomplish your goals, reflect on what happened and what you can do when giving yourself a second chance.
    • Remember, start small.
  • Connect with your myKlovr network.
    • We encourage all users to add trusted adults (e.g., parents, teachers, counselors) to their unique myKlovr network. Ask people in your network how you can improve your grit.
  • Take career assessments.
    • MyKlovr’s career assessments help users research potential career paths. Discovering one or more options gives you the chance to start setting goals and pushing yourself to achieve them.
      • Users who take career assessments use the results to research potential undergraduate majors and the colleges offering them.
      • Career assessments also reveal users’ personal strengths, such as action-taker, visionary, and mentor. This information helps them identify areas where they apply grit regularly, as well as explains why they struggle in others.

Final Thoughts

Like chess, it takes minutes to learn what grit is and years to master it. Yet if you set reasonable goals, reflect on failure, reach out to trusted adults, and use myKlovr’s ample resources, you’ll have a good start in applying grit in your education and personal life.

Good luck with grit. No matter your plans for the future, you’ll need it.