The Myth of the Garage

by Chip Heath

A good statistic is one that aids a decision or shapes an opinion. For a stat to do either of those, it must be dragged within the everyday. That’s your job – to do the dragging. In our world of billions and trillions, that can be a lot of manual labor. But it’s worth it: A number people can grasp is a number that can make a difference.

In fact, new psychological research suggests that grit – defined as endurance in pursuit of long-term goals and an ability to persist in the face of adversity – is a key part of what makes people successful. In a culture that values quick results – this quarter’s numbers, this week’s weight loss, this month’s click-throughs – grit can be an underappreciated secret weapon.

Grit is not synonymous with hard work. It involves a certain single-mindedness. An ungritty prison inmate will formulate a new plan of escape every month, but a gritty prison inmate will tunnel his way out one spoonful of concrete at a time.

slow, inch-by-inch progress? It’s called winning.