Grit versus Talent; Would you rather be talented or tough?

“Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having 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 that future a reality. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” — Angela Duckworth

It’s an interesting question. The athletes we watch today have a lot of talent. But having talent is very different from having the grit to persevere and not give up under challenging circumstances.

Grit can be much more valuable when applied to all areas of our lives. In other words, athletic ability or talent alone won’t do anything to help you when you’re faced with difficult challenges or obstacles.

Talent has its advantages, but it can hinder your success in life.

“Never hope for it more than you work for it.” — Sonya Teclai

Talent can make the journey easier. If you have a talent for a particular area, such as music, sports, or academics, you’ll have an easier time making progress. The journey is smoother and faster.

But, talent is insufficient. Talent doesn’t eliminate the need for practice; talent without practice is no more valuable than not having the talent in the first place. The athletes you see on TV have talent and still put in years of intense training and practice.

Talent is only necessary at the highest levels. Can you be the world’s greatest pianist or golfer without talent? No. But you can make a good living playing the piano or playing golf without much talent, provided you work hard enough and long enough.

There’s nothing wrong with being talented; the more talent, the better. But talent isn’t enough to ensure your success; it only determines the extreme upper limits of your success.

Grit makes progress easier and faster.

“Successful people aren’t born successful. Behind it all, there is hard work, persistence, and a lot of grit.” ― Arshad Wahedna

Grit can be enough to ensure success in all areas of life, and grit is enough to achieve 99% of your goals. Forget about talent. If you can persist and maintain a positive attitude, you can succeed at anything.

Anyone can have grit. Grit results from a particular way of thinking and viewing the world. You can choose your beliefs and thoughts and, therefore, have grit. Start today. Do something you don’t want to do, like clean your desk or purge your unnecessary emails. Be strict and get it done.

Grit begets grit. Developing grit is like building your biceps, and your ability to demonstrate resolve grows with practice. Make yourself do something each unappealing day.

Grit is calming. That might seem counterintuitive, but it’s true. You don’t have many choices to make when you have the determination and you keep moving forward. Constant self-questioning is stressful and exhausting.

When you only have a single choice, life is more straightforward. Having too many options creates anxiety. Grit is among the most important attributes to possess, and grit can overcome a lack of talent in most situations.

Talent is irrelevant unless you need to be in the top 0.25% of something, and it only makes the journey a little easier.

Grit versus talent, which is better?

“Grit is that extra something that separates the most successful people from the rest. It’s the passion, perseverance, and stamina that we must channel to stick with our dreams until they become a reality.” — Travis Bradberry

The amount of grit you possess is far more relevant than the amount of talent you possess. Talent is nice to have, But all the talent in the world is useless if it isn’t applied diligently. The key to long-term success is the ability to persist through setbacks, obstacles, and challenges.

Take control of your beliefs about success and your perspective on life. It will be important at some point that you believe that persistence is far more important than talent.

Hopefully, you have some of both, but if you can only have one, grit is the one that will be more valuable to your success in life.

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