
Grit is a muscle, train it - eriktrautman
http://www.eriktrautman.com/posts/grit-is-a-muscle-train-it
======
DoreenMichele
Years ago, I saw an interview with someone who was or had been in Special
Forces in the military. He talked about how hard training was and that he got
through training by telling himself he was just going to stay until lunch.
After lunch, he would mentally commit to the next hour or two or to making it
to dinner.

This completely changed my concept of such people and became a cornerstone for
getting me through a lot of challenges in the last roughly decade.

People who do hard things aren't simply awesome at everything or blessed to
come from the right family, have the right education etc. Some of them are
getting through hard things by managing their emotions and psychology with
some of the same tricks used by political prisoners being subjected to torture
and trying to not break.

~~~
epberry
Great anecdote. I try to apply this philosophy to endurance training like
running (just get to the next mile marker), swimming (just do the next lap) or
biking (just do another minute) but it's really hard. I'm awed by the special
forces guys (or the author of the post) who apply that kind of thinking to
long periods of time.

It does seem to me though that for creative thinking or solving really tough
engineering problems that rest and laziness can actually be productive. So I
don't know how to reconcile that with "training my grit muscle". It seems both
are important.

~~~
agumonkey
Often while running, the hard periods are only transient and if you just
handle the signals (pushing harder, or adjusting things down a bit) you end up
reaching another period where things are alright again.

I need to get running again

~~~
h_r
I'm not so sure. After 10 marathons, the last 6 miles always suck. Maybe if I
adjusted down to just walking...

------
tw1010
He's right. But muscles can also break from overuse. Just be careful, ya'll.

~~~
hn_throwaway_99
I want to highlight your comment. I don't necessarily think there is a ton
wrong with this blog post, and major kudos to the author for his success. I
would just like to point out that trying to transfer these techniques into
90+% of the rest of the population would probably not result in their success.

I'll use myself as an example. I've heard the bromides of "Get out of your
comfort zone" and "push through", yada yada, many times. And I indeed _have_
gotten out of my comfort zone many times. But I've found that often times I
have extreme stress reactions, sometimes bordering on panic, when I get too
outside my comfort zone. I find this especially the case where I take too much
on at once - I have a poor ability to prioritize and just "let things go" that
aren't important. I wish this weren't the case, but after many cases of trial
and error I've found this is how I am. It's not that I'm not capable of growth
and change, but I'm quite positive what has worked for this guy will most
definitely not work for me.

In general, be very careful of following any successful person's advice on how
they became successful. There were a whole lot of other circumstances, innate
gifts, and a lot of luck for any specific person that won't transfer broadly.

~~~
dwaltrip
Do you think you perhaps pushed too far too fast, and that a slower pace might
work better? Or that the circumstances were not well suited to support
"pushing through" at that time?

I'm genuinely curious here. I also empathize with the struggle you have
experienced. Sometimes I'm not sure how hard I should push myself, or when I
need to first repair or strengthen my foundations.

~~~
hn_throwaway_99
For me, it's not necessarily just that I pushed too far too fast. It's that I
realized that if I _do_ push far, that I need a good amount of recovery time
to deal with it. That is, I'm OK with dealing with one big stressful event,
but it's the "death by a thousand cuts" that I just can't handle, cases where
I have lots of little stressors or interruptions.

And that's OK. There are plenty of ways I can be happy by not putting myself
in situations where I need to deal with tons of these little stressors. Just
probably took me longer than it should have to know what I'm good at, and how
I like to be challenged.

~~~
heavenlyblue
Or, in other words - you need to learn how to pace your stresses and over time
you’ll couch yourself to a person who’s capable of handling stress better.

I am a very sensitive person, nevertheless it took me years to learn how to do
big leaps; and while at first I believed the only way forward for me were
those “revolutionary, yet incredibly painful steps”, I had then reached an age
when I could no longer progress in larger, rarer chunks.

So I learnt that I need to pace my pushes. It still is a cut each time, but I
had to know how big that cut can be so that it would not be an irrecoverable
wound.

Remember, none of those people jumped off a cliff to stop fearing heights.
Neither have they worked out in a situation with a vitamin deficiency. It’s
all healthy and psychological.

------
randomstudent
As a counterexample, every time I have valiantly tried to use Grit to face a
challenge that's uncomfortable and hard for me naturally I have failed
miserably. In all occasions, I would have been better just quitting the
challenge or doing it in a different way that didn't require as much grit.

Yes, you can say that I just wasn't "gritty" enough, but that's the same as
saying that everyone who injures themselves in exercise wasn't "careful"
enough. You're redefining "careful" in order for your theory to be right.
Sometimes bad outcomes happen even when you do everything you can.

My goal here is not only to discourage you from trying hard to achieve your
goals (that's a goal, of course). The main thing here is to get ready for life
to kick you in the face no matter how much grit you have, and sometimes,
precisely for having a lot of grit (no, I won't go into details).

The most important skill isn't grit, it's the wisdom to decide when applying
grit is worth it. And no, I don't know how you train this or even if it is
trainable. It might be just luck.

Instead of relying on grit, stick to what you do best and don't try to use
grit as a replacement for talent or other qualities. If someone is naturally
better than you, in a competition they'll just get grittier than their
baseline and eclipse you.

This is anecdotal but so is the linked article. For any aphorism there is an
equally valid and opposite aphorism.

------
siliconc0w
Devil's advocate - there is also value in embracing laziness and looking for
ways to minimize effort. I train a muscle to look for easier, cheaper
alternatives.

I loathe effort so much that even a banal day to day activity like folding
clothes upsets me. I switched to a 'bin' system that allows me to sort a load
of laundry into bins in a few minutes.

I've perfected several 'one pan/pot' type recipes. A rare and particularly
sophisticated meal might use two pieces of cookware. Oh and ask me about
nutrition bars. At least one meal a day is in bar form.

Anything non-perishable I might need is shipped from amazon. For perishables,
I shop at a store down the street like I'm robbing a bank. In and out in a few
minutes.

Effort feels wrong. Like I'm missing something. I can still do it but my mind
is brute forcing the ways to make it easier next time.

~~~
mac01021
Please share some recipes!

~~~
eesmith
This is also a genre of cookbooks. For example,
[https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-
alias%3Da...](https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-
alias%3Daps&field-keywords=one+pot+recipies) .

Here's a list of 46 such recipes:
[https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/one-
pot](https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/one-pot) . Mmm, I think
it's time to make jambalaya again.

------
emodendroket
I'm completely sick of hearing about "grit" in any context not involving corn
(I'll give John Wayne a special dispensation). Can we move on to the next pop-
psych concept that explains everything?

~~~
0xcde4c3db
I'm mostly tired of hearing about it because it seems like it's always a kind
of sales pitch and almost never a clear description of what it actually is and
what the evidence says about it. Even when the author/presenter/etc. has an
actual academic background in psychology, it feels more like they're trying to
get me to join their religion than describing their research.

~~~
eesmith
I think it's worse. It's used to blame students with below-average grades, and
blame schools where the students have worse-than-average grades, and blame
poor people. See, if they only had grit they could succeed.

I am a fan of the blogger Peter Greene, a high school teacher in Pennsylvania.
He frequently talks about the negative sides of grit. I'll quote from him, as
he says what I would like to say, and is better about it. The quote is from
[http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-doesnt-
kill-...](http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-doesnt-kill-
you.html) concerning a Washington Post editorial by Virgie Townsend titled
"What doesn't kill you doesn't necessarily make you stronger"
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-doesnt-kill-
you-...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-doesnt-kill-you-doesnt-
necessarily-make-you-
stronger/2015/01/02/939f250e-8f7e-11e4-ba53-a477d66580ed_story.html) . Greene
commented:

> Townsend goes on to catalog, from the Puritans through Teddy Roosevelt
> through Helen Keller through Oprah, how we love the story of redeeming and
> clarifying suffering. I would add that it's worth noticing that one of the
> first things people do in these stories of growth and strength is they stop
> suffering. It's not like cake. Nobody (well, almost nobody) says, "Wow. That
> was so good, I think I'll have some more." Suffering in these stories is so
> good for the hero, and yet the progression, the path, is to move away from
> it as swiftly as possible. So I'm going to call our attitude confused, at
> best.

> Townsend notes that we all benefit from "life's healthy and normal
> challenges." But researchers have found that "traumatic incidents often have
> long-term negative consequences." Childhood abuse or trauma can result in
> toxic stress-- stress that is literally poison to the body. "In work
> published in 2012, Harvard researchers found that people who had been
> mistreated as children had, on average, a 6 percent loss in volume in their
> hippocampi, a part of the brain involved with learning and memory. Toxic
> stress also damages the prefrontal cortex, which is linked to social
> behavior and decision-making, and the cardiovascular and immune systems."

> Research suggests that childhood trauma increases the risk of cancer, heart
> disease, mental health issues and (surprise) poor school performance. "A
> 2009 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reported that
> people who had six or more adverse childhood experiences died, on average,
> 20 years sooner than those who had none."

> The classic story of redemption and strength has also been found to be
> helpful to children, but only when paired with the support of stable adults.
> Simply invoking grit or Kelly Clarkson is not enough.

> The message is clear. Childhood trauma stacks the deck against the children
> who suffer through it. Invoking grit or repeatedly firing the teachers who
> can't work miracles won't help.

So, if grit were only used to describe surmounting "life's healthy and normal
challenges" then, sure, exercise that so-called 'muscle'. But the problem is
that 'grit' is used as a catch-all to surmount all problems in life, including
traumatic incidents and childern suffering from the long-term effects of
systemic racism and disdain for the poor.

~~~
emodendroket
This gets to the heart of what's so repellent about this grit stuff to me.

------
volgo
Not doubting the author, but I'm curious why people upvote these articles that
present some X viewpoint and just back it up with "I did this because of X,
therefore X is so and so" without any scientific research

Again I'm not disagreeing with him, but do people enjoy this kind of articles
for motivational purpose or than information? Just curious

------
fasteo
Good advice, but keep in mind that willpower might be a limited resource (it
is[1], it isn't[2]). You do not want to spend it all while training for grit.

In my personal experience, willpower is indeed limited. But that's n=1. As
with everything in life, moderation is key.

[1] [https://www.wired.com/2012/10/mf-
willpower/](https://www.wired.com/2012/10/mf-willpower/)

[2] [https://digest.bps.org.uk/2015/06/24/new-research-
challenges...](https://digest.bps.org.uk/2015/06/24/new-research-challenges-
the-idea-that-willpower-is-a-limited-resource/)

------
grendelt
What’s the difference between “grit” and the traditional understanding of
perseverance?

Isn’t perseverance carrying on in the face of obstacles or without
reinforcement anyway?

~~~
emodendroket
A TED Talk.

~~~
kinkrtyavimoodh
or Medium post.

~~~
emodendroket
In this particular case I think it's the TED Talk and accompanying book by
Tammy Duckworth.

~~~
emodendroket
It's actually Angela Duckworth and not Tammy Duckworth. Sorry Senator.

------
Sharlin
Interesting. As a non-native speaker I wasn't really aware of this meaning of
the word "grit", but it seems very similar to the concept of "sisu" [1] in
Finnish, often regarded as an integral part of the national character of Finns
and considered very difficult if not impossible to translate exactly.
Wikipedia does list "grit" as one of the mental characteristics "sisu" can be
thought to be a combination of.

[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisu)

------
crikli
"Grit" aka mental toughness under duress.

I highly recommend looking into a GORUCK Challenge
([https://www.goruck.com/the-challenge/](https://www.goruck.com/the-
challenge/)) for anyone who wants to develop stronger mental muscle in a few
short* hours.

It's amazing how just a short period of discomfort pares away the bullshit.
You learn how to prioritize under duress, work with other people to assess,
quantify and leverage strengths, and you figure out that you're capable of
more than you thought.

You wouldn't think that a physical challenge translates outside of that scope.
But it does, because most physical challenges are really mental challenges
featuring a facade of physical discomfort.

*They will not feel short.

~~~
icebraining
If you can summon the willpower to go to one of those, I'd say you already
have more than the average person.

------
sebringj
I agree. I would also add on a personal note, I'm not religious by any
account, but your goals have to be your religion. You have to have faith that
your grit will achieve those goals and pray to the gods of achievement
everyday and be grateful you are alive to be on this journey, no matter how
hard it is. Its kind of like you have to willingly be insane. I also found it
helps if you work out really hard to get through some of those darker days as
your small workout achievement boosts your mood and in a way is similar to
having pain and then being the master if it by running up that hill, etc.
Great article.

~~~
FrojoS
I do not agree with your first sentences. You can work hard without being
insane. In fact you can decide to work very hard based on reason. 'Teach
Yourself Stoicism and the Art of Happiness' by Donald J. Robertson is a great
introduction.

> You have to have faith that your grit will achieve those goals and pray to
> the gods of achievement everyday

Having faith, that your grit will achieve your goals is also sort of insane.
It's irrational for sure. Whether you achieve a goal or not is out of your
control. All you can and should do is to try your best.

~~~
sebringj
Well its subjective as I cannot exactly say feelings. When I mean "insane" I
just mean it feels that way as you are pushing yourself toward something
without definitive proof or in some cases breaking completely new ground that
relies on a lot of things working out of your control. Definitely can be
interpreted many ways, I agree.

------
maxxxxx
For grit to work you also need some success from time to time. You can't just
grind along without ever getting positive feedback or you'll burn out at some
point.

------
nicolashahn
Good advice but incomplete in my opinion. Discipline(grit) is good, but
developing it without a concrete goal is very hard.

He uses push ups as an example and states that it's not for the physical
conditioning, but to train his grit. That's his goal. He's chosen this thing
and has probably thought for a while about its value, and has come to the
conclusion that it is worth the tradeoff is the time and pain of the pushups.

Goals are personal and the same might not work with everyone. If 'developing
grit' is some wishy washy thing that an article on the internet told you to
do, then you might not stick with the pushups. If your goal is to pass a
fitness test for becoming a firefighter or something, and that's something
that you really, really want to do, the pushups become easy as long as you
hold your ultimate goal in mind.

The most disciplined people in the world got there not because being the most
disciplined was their goal, but discipline was necessary for attaining it.

~~~
emodendroket
Incidentally it's pretty common to injure yourself with one of those 0-100
exercise programs like push-ups. I gave it a try and screwed up my elbows for
a while.

------
hartator
I am reading a book about management “a sense of emergency” by John P. Kotter,
and weirdly I think it’s also an excellent book for self development to
improve grit and reduce procastination.

------
mkagenius
“Once you form a habit, habit starts forming you”

------
icebraining
Hypothetically, what if you don't have the willpower to do even a small thing
every day? How is the process bootstrapped?

~~~
goodJobWalrus
There is a guy from Stanford, BJ Fogg is the name IIRC, who does a course
"Simple Habits". It's like, commit to doing 1 pushup for 5 days first thing in
the morning. It is supposed to lead to forming long-term bigger habits, but
I'm personally not convinced. Anyways, check him out.

~~~
icebraining
Interesting, thanks. Still, it takes at least a bit of initial grit to do that
one pushup - especially every day.

~~~
oracB5
You need to get the ball moving with following your own instructions. The
first tasks don't have to be useful or related, just doable. Eg force yourself
to blink. Then raise one arm. Then stand up. Now you are half way to doing the
pushup. Ignore the silliness of it all, and keep going. With each
progressively harder step, you gain more momentum and more energy to take
bigger steps.

------
dlwdlw
Here is IMO a much better framework to think about grit:
[https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2011/08/19/the-calculus-of-
grit/](https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2011/08/19/the-calculus-of-grit/)

Some excerpts:

''' Grit has external connotations of extreme toughness, a high apparent
threshold for pain, and an ability to keep picking yourself up after getting
knocked down. From the outside, grit looks like the bloody-minded exercise of
extreme will power. It looks like a super-power.

I used to believe this understanding of grit as a superhuman trait. I used to
think I didn’t possess it. Yet people seem to think I exhibit it in some
departments. Like reading and writing. They are aghast at the amount of
reading I do. They wonder how I can keep churning out thousands of words, week
after week, year after year, with no guarantee that any particular piece of
writing will be well-received.

They think I must possess superhuman willpower because they make a very simple
projection error: they think it is hard for me because it would be hard for
them. Well of course things are going to take superhuman willpower if you go
after them with the wrong strengths.

...

If it isn’t crystal clear, I am advocating the view that if you find that what
you are doing is ridiculously hard for you, it is the wrong thing for you to
be doing. I maintain that you should not have to work significantly harder or
faster to succeed today than you had to 50 years ago. A little harder perhaps.
Mainly, you just have to drop external frames of reference and trust your
internal navigation on a landscape of your own strengths. It may look like
superhuman grit to an outsider, but if it feels like that inside to you,
you’re doing something wrong.

...

Exhortation is pointless. Humans don’t suddenly become super-human just
because the environment suddenly seems to demand superhuman behavior for
survival. Those who attempt this kill themselves just as surely as those dumb
kids who watch a superman movie and jump off buildings hoping to fly.

It is the landscape of your own strengths that matters. And you can set your
own, completely human pace through it.

The only truly new behavior you need is increased introspection. And yes, this
will advantage some people over others. To avoid running faster and faster
until you die of exhaustion, you need to develop an increasingly refined
understanding of this landscape as you progress. You twist and turn as you
walk (not run) primarily to find the path of least resistance on the landscape
of your strengths.

'''

------
johnchristopher
I wish mental problems could be « gritted out » as easily as physical
challenges :).

------
zerostar07
how can you do crunches in the bed?

