Have you ever completed a task you didn’t want to do? Of course you have. We all do. Think about how you felt during the process. Were you encouraged about the accomplishment or were you just ready for it to be over? Did the feeling depend on your ultimate end goal? Grit researcher Dr. Angela Duckworth would suggest passion for the ultimate end goal makes a huge difference in perseverance and success.
Headlines and quick recitations of research indicate grit is a common denominator of successful people. Individuals, especially stressed and busy law students, can make assumptions about what grit entails based on a common understanding. Many people, myself included, heard small pieces of information and assumed grit meant hard work and perseverance in face of all obstacles. However, Dr. Duckworth suggests grit contains more than the common understanding. She argues perseverance is a major component, but perseverance combined with passion is critical for long-term grittiness.
Dr. Duckworth’s research into passion with perseverance resonates with me. I love playing golf. I am not uniquely good at golf, but I continue to play. After the glory of DST, I can go to the driving range once a week after my kids go to bed. I set goals and continually try to improve. However, I only improve about 1 shot a year on average, but I keep working hard on the process. Contrast golf with my low desire for running. Running is a great activity, but I tend to get bored and winded. Some OCU faculty and staff form relay teams to participate in the Oklahoma City Bombing Run to Remember in April. I participated last year and trained just enough to make it through the 5k leg. My desire to complete a run associated with the largest tragedy in my community keep me training and helped me complete the race. After April, I didn’t run again until November to start training for a 10k leg this year because I didn't have a larger reason to overcome my lack of desire to run. Even now, training is hard. My body hurts, so I keep making excuses to not follow my regimen. My desire is low, so I will not put in as much effort as I should. I also predict I won’t keep running after April again. Most of my running gains will be lost by next year.
Passion is a critical ingredient to get through law school. At orientation, I make first-year students write down why he/she wants to be an attorney. I tell them halfway through the semester they should read their why statement again. Any time they are stressed or finding classes difficult, I suggest going back to the why statement. Passion and the why can provide enough motivation to continue through struggles. No one will like every assignment. No one will like every class. Re-reading the reason for attending was to help unrepresented groups or provide a better life for family can be enough to complete the assignment in a way to learn the material to retain it for success on finals and the bar exam. Combining the why with perseverance can help overcome many of law school's challenges.
Learn how to tap into passion now because it will be critical in the practice of law. No one will like every deposition, client, case, discovery request, or contract. Trudging through it without passion won’t provide the best advocacy or work product, and that is not the grit that leads to success. Finding your passion for the end goal and persevering is what leads to long-term success.
(Steven Foster)
