Have you ever wondered which really matters more—grit or talent?
No doubt, you wonder once why other people achieve more things than you?
Is it because they are lucky? They are talented, or do they work hard for it?
It’s quite interesting, right?
A talent is a skill that appears to have always existed; an innate trait that can be developed with little effort (Marinaki, 2022).
Having talent is great. Possessing a skill in a specific field, such as the arts or sports, will help you get ahead faster. Your journey might become easier and quicker.
However, although talent is essential, it is not the same thing as grit or the determination to keep going even when difficult situations arise.
“Grit is passion & perseverance for very long-term goals; Grit is stamina; Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years and working really hard to make your dreams a reality; Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint” – Angela Lee Duckworth
This concept emphasizes that grit is not a one-time event but a process or character trait that develops and improves through time.
Grit is the capability to keep moving forward despite setbacks or delays, no matter how long it may take. People with grit are those who persist in the face of adversity and eventually achieve their goals.
How you deal with disappointments is another indication of grit. Gritty people are those who have the ability to recover quickly from difficulties and never give up when things don’t go as planned. When someone criticizes them, they tend to work harder, as if they were taking on a personal challenge.
It is the daily commitment to bettering oneself and moving closer to one’s goals.
Simply having talent is not enough. Even if you’re naturally gifted, you still need to put in the time to improve your skills through practice. Talent that isn’t developed isn’t better than having no talent at all.
The athletes, musicians, or even dancers that you see on big screens also put in countless hours of hard work and practice to be the best in their field and achieve success.
Having a lot of talent is a great quality to have. However, talent alone is not a guarantee of success; rather, it establishes a ceiling for your achievements. According to the book review of Puiu (2017), it was believed that a person’s talent was a major contributing factor that caused them to divert from their intended paths. Talent, in this context, is not something to be confused with luck.
While grit alone can be all that’s needed for success in any endeavor, it matters because it’s good enough to get you to where you want to go in life most of the time. You can achieve practically any goal you set for yourself if you have the desire to keep going and the optimism to see things through.
Grit is something that can exist in everyone. It is the outcome of a specific mindset and mental framework. You may cultivate it by deciding to think and act positively.
Life is simpler when there is only one option, but being faced with too many alternatives can be stressful. That’s why having grit really matters, because it lets you succeed even if you don’t have a lot of natural skills.
How determined you are matters more than how talented you are. Either way will get you to a similar destination. There is a time difference between the two. However, one’s natural abilities are considered irrelevant if they are not consistently practiced. Successful people are those who are able to push through difficulty and keep going even when things don’t go their way.
Having both talent and grit is preferable, but if you have to choose just one, go with grit.
Puiu, A. I. (2017, September). Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, 6(3), 352. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.igi-global.com/pdf.aspx
Marinaki, A. (2022, July 8). What is talent? talent definition in the workplace. Recruiting Resources: How to Recruit and Hire Better. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://resources.workable.com/hr-terms/talent-definition
