True Grit

Forgive me for blatantly stealing the blog post title from a John Wayne movie, but I couldn't help but share some findings from this fascinating compilation taken from centuries of findings of people much smarter than I. I think this is another example of science (in this case, psychology) complimenting some pretty basic Biblical principles. This gets long. . .but show a little grit and keep reading. . .

Here's an excerpt from the article:
'it appears that praising children for their intelligence can make them less likely to persist in the face of challenges, a crucial element of grit. For much of the last decade, [some people with a lot of time on their hands] have tracked hundreds of fifth-graders in 12 different New York City schools. The children were randomly assigned to two groups, both of which took an age-appropriate version of the IQ test. After taking the test, one group was praised for their intelligence - “You must be smart at this,” the researcher said - while the other group was praised for their effort and told they “must have worked really hard.”

[They] then gave the same fifth-graders another test. This test was designed to be extremely difficult - it was an intelligence test for eighth-graders - but [they] wanted to see how they would respond to the challenge. The students who were initially praised for their effort worked hard at figuring out the puzzles. Kids praised for their smarts, on the other hand, quickly became discouraged.

The final round of intelligence tests was the same difficulty level as the initial test. The students who had been praised for their effort raised their score, on average, by 30 percent. This result was even more impressive when compared to the students who had been praised for their intelligence: their scores on the final test dropped by nearly 20 percent. A big part of success . . .stems from our beliefs about what leads to success.'

While we all want ourselves and our kids to naturally be the smartest, strongest, or prettiest, it seems that perseverance, and the encouragement to do so, is of greater benefit than raw talent or inborn aptitude. A number of Biblical characters who demonstrate perseverance/grit come to mind - Nehemiah, Daniel, David, and nearly all of the New Testament players.

Galatians 6:9 begs to be quoted: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

But I think my favorite (at least at this time in my life) is II Cor 12:9-10: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. . .I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The nice thing, as Christ followers, is that our grit doesn't have to come from within our own week, feeble bodies & intellects. We have within us One whose power has already overcome. Therefore, as it says in Heb 12, Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Puts long nights awake with an inconsolable baby in proper perspective.