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This week, we’re returning to a thought we discussed in June, when you were writing semester exams. We are circling back because it is such an important insight. It can quite literally change your life, not only for now, but into the future. Let’s focus on this moment first, though.
The year is almost done, and you’re exhausted. You must find the strength and the energy – the GRIT – to keep going in the last stretch, and to give your absolute best in the exams. How does one do that?!
Prof Angela Duckworth of the University of Pennsylvania in America wrote a book called “GRIT: The Power of Passion and Perseverance”. (It will be worth your while to read the whole thing, when you have time during the holidays.) She studied different groups of people, from the navy’s elite SEALs to teachers in the toughest schools to children competing in a countrywide spelling contest.
One of her most important conclusions is that it’s not the smartest people who are the most successful. “…what really drives success is not ‘genius’ but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance.”
I hope you have chosen a study and career path that can become your passion, but in this moment in your journey it’s all about perseverance. One way to achieve that, according to Prof Duckworth’s research, is to find purpose in what you’re doing. Gritty people don’t merely have a job, she says. They have a calling. She explains it with this story:
Three bricklayers are asked, “What are you doing?” The first says, “I am laying bricks.” The second says, “I am building a church.” The third says, “I am building the house of God.” The first bricklayer has a job. The second has a career. The third has a calling.
What are you doing in pursuing your studies? Are you simply trying to pass this exam? That’s a job. Perhaps you are building your credits to achieve a degree. That’s a career. But perhaps you are working towards a new future for you and your family; a future in which you will help to build a more successful South Africa. That’s a calling.
That calling connects to another of Prof Duckworth’s prescriptions for grit: having hope. Not just a vague wish that things will go well, but a belief that things will improve because you will help to improve them. She writes:
One kind of hope is the expectation that tomorrow will be better than today. It’s the kind of hope that has us yearning for sunnier weather, or a smoother path ahead. It comes without the burden of responsibility. The onus is on the universe to make things better. Grit depends on a different kind of hope. It rests on the expectation that our own efforts can improve our future. “I have a feeling tomorrow will be better” is different from “I resolve to make tomorrow better.” The hope that gritty people have has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with getting up again.
When you feel exhausted and fed-up, take a step back and consider the big picture. Why are you here? What is your purpose, your calling? What does your work mean, not only for yourself, but for other people? You will be surprised at the renewed energy you can muster if you see yourself and your efforts in this moment as part of a bigger enterprise and a longer term plan.
This piece of advice is not only for this moment in your life, but also for the future. Just like your studies, no job is interesting ALL the time. There will be many moments when you feel like this. Always go back to your personal WHY. When the why is clear, the how is easy.
Good luck in the final stretch for this year. Our thoughts are with you,
From the GRAD team
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