What if the Secret to Success is Failure? That is the title of a recent New York Times article detailing what most of us instinctively know: We have to take risks and fail in order to learn. (See my Blog on The Nine Year Change for information on allowing children to make mistakes at Rainbow Mountain.)
Psychologist Angela Lee Duckwork studies the qualities that make people successful. After identifying a core set of seven key character traits (“Grit, self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and curiosity”), Duckworth narrows the list further to those first two when explaining what most makes for success in the face of difficulty.
As she explains in her TEDx talk at the Blue School, founded and funded by Blue Man Group, self-control is a better predictor for school success (defined as GPA) than either IQ or grit but, she argues, grit is more meaningful for larger and longer-scale success.
Self-discipline is doing your homework when you need to, staying on a diet. Self-discipline is great for homework and GPA, but not such a great predictor for whether you are going to found Blue Man Group and stick with it.
