Angela Duckworth on Why Grit Isn’t Always Enough

Ten years ago, Angela Duckworth wrote the book on grit. Now she's back with the advice you need to keep moving forward. The MacArthur genius fellow, University of Pennsylvania professor and bestselling author joins Jessi in the studio to make the case that individual effort only takes you as far as your situation allows and that changing your situation is one of the most powerful tools you have. Her new book is called Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best. 

In this episode, Jessi and Angela discuss:

Why grit isn't enough and what Angela has learned in the decade since she wrote her first book

The three-box model: how your situation shapes your thoughts, and your thoughts shape your behavior

Why changing your situation feels like giving up and why Angela calls it an act of heroism instead

Status quo bias: the psychological reason we cling to circumstances we know aren't working

The difference between quitting and job crafting and how to make smaller career moves before the big one

What Taylor Swift moving to Nashville at 14 has to do with your next career decision

Microfriction: the surprisingly small physical changes that do what willpower can't

The Pygmalion Effect: why so much of what we believe about ourselves is borrowed from the people around us

Three kinds of mentors everyone needs: mentors for a reason, a season and a lifetime

The curiosity conversation: how Oprah got Maya Angelou to be her mentor, and how you can apply the same approach