Angela Duckworth Quotes

By Alan Reiner – July 8, 2024

‘Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.’ – Angela Duckworth

‘There are no shortcuts to true excellence.’ – Angela Duckworth

‘Grittier students are more likely to earn their diplomas; grittier teachers are more effective in the classroom. Grittier soldiers are more likely to complete their training, and grittier salespeople are more likely to keep their jobs. The more challenging the domain, the more grit seems to matter.’ – Angela Duckworth

‘Substituting nuance for novelty is what experts do, and that is why they are never bored.’ – Angela Duckworth

‘The focus on just thinking about standardized test scores as being synonymous with achievement for teenagers is ridiculous, right? There are so many things that kids care about, where they excel, where they try hard, where they learn important life lessons, that are not picked up by test scores.’ – Angela Duckworth

‘Grit, in a word, is stamina. But it’s not just stamina in your effort. It’s also stamina in your direction, stamina in your interests. If you are working on different things but all of them very hard, you’re not really going to get anywhere. You’ll never become an expert.’ – Angela Duckworth

‘Being gritty doesn’t mean not showing pain or pretending everything is O.K. In fact, when you look at healthy and successful and giving people, they are extraordinarily meta-cognitive. They’re able to say things like, ‘Dude, I totally lost my temper this morning.’ That ability to reflect on yourself is signature to grit.’ – Angela Duckworth

‘One thing that’s true of gritty people is they love what they do, and they keep loving what they do. So they’re not just in love for a day or a week. People who are really gritty – they’re still interested.’ – Angela Duckworth

‘At various points, in big ways and small, we get knocked down. If we stay down, grit loses. If we get up, grit prevails.’ – Angela Duckworth

‘I know a lot of CEOs who are looking for three- to four-year varsity athletes – not necessarily because these people are going to be doing pushups or spiking volleyballs in the workplace, but because they’re looking for that continuity, that person who was gritty about something.’ – Angela Duckworth