Grit Test
Questions:
1. New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones.
• Not like me at all.

2. Setbacks don’t discourage me.
• Not much like me.

3. I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest.
• Not like me at all.

4. I am a hard worker.
• Very much like me.

5. I often set a goal but later choose to pursue a different one.
• Not like me at all.

6. I have difficulty maintaining my focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete.
• Not much like me.

7. I finish whatever I begin.
• Very much like me.

8. I am diligent.
• Very much like me.

9. Gender
• Male

10. Year of Birth
• 1989

11. Do you currently live in the United States?
• Yes

12. Ethnicity
• Caucasian/White

13. Highest Level of Education
• Associates Degree
Result:
4.88 Out of 5
90% Grittier than people of your age.

Ways to Improve My Grit
I noticed throughout the test I had one question in particular that I had answered less than exceptional on. “It being difficult to maintain focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete.” I believe some of this is due to the fact that I am a patient person, but eventually my patience runs thin. This causes me to get\ discouraged and more willing to give up. Although, I have noticed throughout the years, as I get older, that my patience and my discouragement become less and less. I can only hope that as time continues, they only subside more.
Another thing I have noticed as I have gotten older is that my attention span has increased as well. I have an easier time staying on projects and not worrying about the “fun” or “easy” aspect of it. My research and personal experience have helped me realize that I do deserve the grit score I attained, because in the words of Barry Schwartz, ‘“Grit”—is a better predictor of academic success than IQ or SAT scores. Grit is about more than sustained attention. It is about responding to challenges by rolling up your sleeves and working harder” (Schwartz, 2014). I feel this describes me to a ‘T’ when it comes to my work ethic, and problem solving skills.
More often than not, whether I am at work or home, I have noticed if I personally take pride in my work, I persist longer than something I am self-critical and self-judgmental on.
My ability to delay gratification has always shown up in my life, now more than ever with college. I have had to constantly delay gratification to do well in my classes, and to achieve the career in mind after graduation. Although, I have noticed that up until I reached the college level of education, and into the mentality of a young adult, my ability to delay gratification lacked due to my maturity, and ability to show self-control when it came to being responsible. I can relate to one story involving a college student named Kewauna. In this article Annie Murphy Paul hit me right on the head as well, “It was as if Kewauna were taking part in an extended, high-stakes version of Walter Mischel’s marshmallow experiment, except in this case, the choice on offer was that she could have one marshmallow now or she could work really hard for four years, constantly scrimping and saving, staying up all night, struggling, sacrificing — and then get, not two marshmallows, but some kind of elegant French pastry she’d only vaguely heard of, like a napoleon. And Kewauna, miraculously, opted for the napoleon, even though she’d never tasted one before and didn’t know anyone who had. She just had faith that it was going to be delicious” (Paul A, 2012). I am doing attempting to follow with my college education as she had for the pastry and can only hope and strive for nothing but the best.
One thing I found in my research that could help me increase the lowest part of my grit was found in the words of Kenneth Barish, Ph.D., in reference to children in school. “Talking about the disappointments and frustrations endured by their heroes, baseball players for example, who sometimes strike out. In baseball, it is often said; ‘Even the best hitters fail twice as often as they succeed’” (Barish K, 2014). This statement stuck out to me like a sore thumb and made me step back and think, ‘Well if those people fail one out of two times, and don’t get discouraged and start to give up, why then after one failure am I?’

References

Barish, K. (2014, January 5). How Can We Help Our Children Become. "Grittier". Retrieved September 22, 2014, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pride-and-joy/201401/how-can-we-help-our-children-become-grittier

Paul, A. (2012, August 25). School of Hard Knocks. The New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/books/review/how-children-succeed-by-paul-tough.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Schwartz, B. (2014, September 23). Paying Attention Is a Skill: Schools Need to Teach It. Slate Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2014, from http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2013/09/paying_attention_is_a_skill_schools_need_to_teach_it.html