Reading time: approximately 12 minutes

What Will You Learn in This Article?

• What Angela Duckworth means by grit, and how it relates to long-term goals.
• How psychological resilience differs from perseverance.
• Where the concepts overlap, and how the questions they raise differ.
• Common myths about persistence, success, and stepping back.
• How to review a decision to keep trying or change direction.

Introduction

You may have come a long way towards a goal that matters to you and then found yourself facing a difficult question: do I need more perseverance, or do I need to acknowledge that this path no longer suits me? Perhaps you have invested years in a field of study, time and money in a project, or sustained effort in pursuing a professional opportunity. When progress slows, competing advice can surround you: “Don’t give up,” “Try something else,” and “Success takes patience.” None of these statements, on its own, answers the question you face.

Comparing grit with psychological resilience helps us untangle this uncertainty. Grit directs our attention to sustained pursuit of distant goals, while resilience invites us to consider how we adapt to difficulties and change. They may come together in one situation, but they do not describe the same thing. Understanding the distinction allows us to value perseverance without turning it into a permanent obligation, and to consider changing direction without making it a judgement of someone’s worth or abilities.

What Is Grit According to Angela Duckworth?

Angela Duckworth and her colleagues introduced grit as the combination of perseverance and passion for long-term goals. The focus is on sustaining effort and interest over time, beyond the initial enthusiasm that accompanies starting a project or learning a skill. In their 2007 paper, the team examined how grit related to outcomes in several contexts, including academic achievement, persistence in military training, and participation in a spelling competition. The concept helped explain some differences in outcomes, without providing a comprehensive explanation of success. [1]

To make this more concrete, imagine someone who wants to become a professional translator. They may begin with great enthusiasm, then discover that developing their skills requires extensive reading, revision, and practice, and that some texts take repeated attempts. Perseverance appears in returning to work on these skills; sustained interest appears in the field continuing to matter over time. Enjoying every session or feeling satisfied with every translation is not a requirement of this example. A goal can remain important even when some steps are tiring or tedious.

It is useful to avoid treating grit as a synonym for every form of endurance. Commitment to a long-term goal differs from tolerating abuse or remaining in draining circumstances without a purpose one has chosen. Completing a short task despite difficulty is also insufficient, on its own, to describe a long-term pattern of perseverance. In this article, we use grit in the sense associated with Duckworth’s research, rather than as general praise for anyone who endures more.

Psychological Resilience: How Do We Deal with Life’s Difficulties?

Psychological resilience concerns our capacity to adapt to life’s difficulties and adversity, and to respond to the stress that accompanies them. It does not mean passing through difficult experiences without sadness or anxiety, or facing them alone. What happens may affect us deeply, and we may need time and support to absorb the change and reorganise our lives. The American Psychological Association emphasises supportive relationships, self-care, and a realistic view of thoughts and circumstances. Adaptation may therefore involve asking for help, adjusting our commitments, or finding a different way to continue what matters to us. [2]

Imagine that the translator in the previous example becomes responsible for caring for a parent. Their professional goal may remain important, but the circumstances in which they pursue it have changed. They may need to take on fewer projects, share caregiving responsibilities, or postpone a training course. The question broadens from “How do I keep working towards my goal?” to “How can I organise my life so I can care for my parent, myself, and my work?” Adjusting the pace of work may be what makes continuing possible.

Where Do Grit and Psychological Resilience Meet?

Grit and psychological resilience overlap when we face difficulty on the way to a goal that matters and look for a suitable way to continue pursuing it. Grit draws attention to sustained commitment to the goal, while resilience encourages us to review our response to what we face. They may come together in trying again after a setback, learning from the experience, and adjusting what needs to change. This overlap does not make them one concept: sustained effort tells us something about our relationship with a goal, while understanding adaptation also requires attention to our circumstances, needs, and support.

A student may continue preparing for a professional exam after an unsuccessful attempt. Their next attempt might involve reviewing errors, seeking specialist training, and organising study time around work and other responsibilities. Here, persistence towards the goal accompanies a change in how the difficulty is handled. Repeating the same plan, however, does not by itself tell us whether the next attempt is better suited to the situation. It helps to ask what has changed between attempts, as well as recognising the effort involved.

Where Do They Differ? Pursuing a Goal and Adapting to Life

Duckworth’s concept of grit concerns the pursuit of long-term goals, while psychological resilience addresses difficulties that may extend beyond achievement. A person may need to reorganise life after a loss, respond to a change in health, or build relationships and sources of support after moving to a new country. In these experiences, the priority may be regaining some stability and the capacity to manage daily life. An experience does not have to end in exceptional achievement for us to recognise an important effort to adapt.

Someone may be able to spend years on a complex research project but find it difficult to seek support when family responsibilities accumulate. Another person may decide to end a project that has become impossible to sustain, then reorganise their commitments and explore alternatives. Neither example is enough to judge someone’s resilience, but both show why persistence alone does not provide the whole picture. We need to understand what the person faces, how they respond, and how their decisions affect their life over time.

What Does Research Say About Grit?

In their 2007 study, Duckworth and colleagues found that grit helped predict some achievement and persistence outcomes in the samples they examined. Explaining part of the differences between people, however, does not explain all of success. An association between grit and better outcomes also does not establish that a programme designed to develop grit will produce the same results. Observing that more persistent people achieved certain outcomes differs from testing what happens when we try to increase perseverance through a structured intervention. [1]

In a review combining 88 independent samples involving more than 66,000 people, Credé and colleagues found substantial overlap between grit and conscientiousness, a personality trait encompassing qualities such as diligence, organisation, and responsibility. Perseverance of effort was more strongly related to the outcomes studied than consistency of interests. The review raised questions about how distinct grit is from related traits and cautioned against expecting large effects from grit interventions on performance and success. These findings help us value perseverance while remaining clear about the limits of what we know. [3]

If a project fails, we cannot immediately conclude that its founder did not persevere enough. We may need to examine product quality, market opportunities, available resources, or the suitability of the strategy. Similarly, when we hear a success story, it helps to notice the opportunities, relationships, and circumstances that supported the person alongside their effort. This perspective allows us to draw on the concept of grit without making it a ready-made explanation for other people’s successes or setbacks.

You Can Stay Committed to a Goal and Change Your Approach

Duckworth and Gross distinguish between higher-level goals and the smaller steps that serve them. Someone may remain committed to a broad goal for years while changing the means used to pursue it. If one route becomes unavailable, they can look for another that serves the same purpose. This account allows us to understand perseverance in a way that accommodates review and learning, rather than equating it with adherence to every detail of the original plan. [4]

Let us return to the translator. If they want to work in literary translation, they may discover that a course they enrolled in does not provide the training they need. Leaving the course and seeking practical supervision or a translation review group might serve their goal better. They can also try different types of texts before deciding where to specialise. What matters is understanding what did not help and what they expect an alternative to offer, so that the change is informed by what they have learned.

Duckworth herself explains that people can become rigidly attached to projects or lower-level goals that are no longer useful. She also emphasises that circumstances and opportunities influence both the development of grit and the possibility of benefiting from it. Her idea should therefore not be reduced to an instruction to continue any project regardless of its results. The overall direction may remain important while the route towards it needs a substantial change. [5]

What If the Goal Itself Needs Reviewing?

Sometimes changing the method is insufficient: what we want may change, or circumstances may shift so much that a goal becomes unattainable. Research by Carsten Wrosch and colleagues examined the ability to disengage from unattainable goals and redirect effort towards alternative goals. Across three studies, these capacities were associated with some indicators of subjective well-being. The findings do not say that leaving goals behind is always better, but they show why an understanding of adaptation needs room for reconsidering the commitment itself. [6]

Someone may want a career path that requires relocation they cannot manage in their current circumstances. They can first explore alternatives: postponing the move, finding a related path, or arranging a different way to continue. If the barriers remain decisive, they may choose another goal that deserves their time and effort. The decision can still bring sadness about what they had hoped for, even when it feels appropriate. They do not have to feel relieved immediately or find a benefit that compensates for everything they have lost.

Three Myths That Complicate Our Relationship with Perseverance

“If I Keep Going Long Enough, I Will Definitely Succeed”

This idea may provide a temporary boost, but it does not help us assess what is happening. Imagine a business with declining sales whose owner keeps repeating the same marketing campaign. A decision to continue requires information about the product, pricing, and customers, as well as an understanding of what can realistically improve. Effort gains a clearer direction when informed by a review of results. We can value perseverance without offering the business owner a promise we cannot guarantee.

“Changing Direction Makes the Past Years Worthless”

Someone considering a change of academic specialisation may feel obliged to continue so that the years already spent are not wasted. It is understandable that past time and effort carry weight in the decision, but they cannot, on their own, answer the question of what comes next. The person can review the knowledge, skills, and relationships they have gained and what they can carry into a different path. A sense of loss or regret may remain without meaning that continuing is the best option. What needs evaluating is what each choice is likely to offer from this point forward.

“Resilient People Never Get Tired or Need Anyone”

People may continue meeting responsibilities while feeling sad or exhausted, and may need practical or professional help. The American Psychological Association emphasises that resilience does not mean the absence of distress, and that receiving support can be an important part of it. An outward appearance of composure therefore does not tell us everything about someone’s experience. When we want to support them, we can ask what is weighing on them and what others could share, rather than simply reminding them that they are strong. [2]

How Can You Decide Whether to Continue or Change Direction?

Begin by identifying what you are considering continuing or leaving: is it the entire goal, the approach, or the timing? “I can’t keep going” might mean the goal no longer matters, or it might mean that the current plan exceeds the time and energy available. Then review what you know: what has actually been tried? What results have emerged? Which alternatives remain unexplored? These questions can turn a general feeling of uncertainty into specific points that can be discussed.

If circumstances allow, try a clear adjustment over a suitable period and then review its effects. Instead of making an open-ended commitment to working longer hours, you might seek an expert opinion, change your training method, or reduce other commitments. It helps to decide what you will count as progress, what costs you can bear, and when you will reassess. Continuing then becomes a choice you review in light of information, rather than a permanent test of willpower.

Some decisions may require a conversation with someone who can help you see the options more clearly. A teacher, career adviser, or trusted person can ask about aspects you have overlooked without deciding for you. If excessive demands or insufficient resources are the central problem, the discussion needs to address them directly. Sometimes the appropriate next step is learning a skill; sometimes it is reducing a responsibility, asking for support, or reconsidering a deadline. A useful question is: what would make the next step suitable for what I want and the circumstances in which I live?

Further Reading on Resilience

To explore responding to difficulties in more depth, consider The Resilience Factor by Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatté, which discusses resilience skills and the role of thinking patterns in responding to challenges. It complements this topic, while Duckworth’s grit remains a concept with its own research focus. A practical question to take into your reading is: what is worth continuing to pursue, and what needs to change so that I can pursue it in a way that fits my life?

References

1. Duckworth et al. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals.
2. American Psychological Association (2020). Building Your Resilience.
3. Credé, Tynan, & Harms (2017). Much Ado About Grit: A Meta-Analytic Synthesis of the Grit Literature.
4. Duckworth & Gross (2014). Self-Control and Grit: Related but Separable Determinants of Success.
5. Angela Duckworth. Grit — Frequently Asked Questions.
6. Wrosch et al. (2003). Adaptive Self-Regulation of Unattainable Goals: Goal Disengagement, Goal Reengagement, and Subjective Well-Being.