You have to be smart to be successful, right? Maybe there's more to success than talent and intelligence. People are born with the natural ability to be intelligent, but this does not predict their dedication and commitment to a successful life. Characteristics such as grit pursue long-term goals and desire improvement. Even after failing, you exercise self-discipline to succeed from a motivational perspective. Continued learning efforts after experiencing discouraging setbacks can improve the outcome of achieving success, as Duckworth mentioned in the transcript, “…as if it were a marathon, not a sprint.” Duckworth defines grit in the transcript as “pursuing long-term goals with passion and perseverance, emphasized by the endurance to continue working hard to achieve your goals.” I agree with your definition based on experience. I always had the natural ability to be able to pass a class without having to study or put in any effort until I started college. I started college thinking I could pass smoothly and never open a book like I had previously done in high school. Soon, I discovered that I was wrong. I had to work hard and fail a couple of times to realize the correct way to learn the required material. I was so used to doing things on my own and always being successful that I had to train myself to be patient and endure the task with a new perspective and perseverance to achieve success. I had to choose whether to continue to fail or try something new and work hard to pursue my future. In the TED video, Duckworth says that grit is often "unrelated or inversely related to talent." I agree with Duckworth because lack of talent doesn't mean you can't cultivate yourself to be successful. People need to believe that failure... middle of paper... every one of you. So, in my opinion, growing up discouraged due to lack of teaching and encouragement could affect someone's mental abilities in the future. Although IQ is known to predict success, you should not limit yourself to just that trait. Grit is a compelling predictor of success because each of us has the capabilities to do well in life based on more than just quick and easy learning. There are a lot of great things happening in Grit right now, but there are still some unanswered. While there is no answer yet that explains how to develop grit in people, researchers are planning to complete this next step and find some answers! Works Cited Duckworth, Angela. “Having grit is the key to success.” NPR/TED STAFF, November 1, 2013.Web. February 1, 2014."Grit is the key to success." TEDTalks. November 1, 2013 Web. February 1. 2014.