Summary
Overview
Angela Duckworth, psychologist and bestselling author of Grit, returns to discuss her new book Situated, which explores how our environment and circumstances shape our success just as much as our personal effort and determination. Over ten years after Grit, Duckworth has expanded her focus from the 'inside game' of personal psychology to the 'outside game' of situational factors, arguing that understanding and controlling our situations is just as important as willpower and perseverance.
The Genesis of Situated: From Grit to Context
Duckworth explains how a graduate student challenged her work on Grit, pointing out that she was essentially blaming people for failure without considering their situations. This critique led her to collaborate with sociologists and eventually write Situated as a companion piece to Grit. The book represents a fundamental shift from focusing solely on individual characteristics to understanding the power of environment and context in shaping human behavior and success.
- A sociology graduate student named Anindya critiqued Grit for ignoring situational factors and blaming individuals for lack of success
- James Flynn said every great psychologist eventually becomes a sociologist because you can't understand human behavior without considering the situation
- The two books together represent the inside game (Grit) and outside game (Situated) of success
" Grit is great, but grit is not enough. It's sometimes the solution. But who among us would not benefit from saying, before I kick as hard as I can and put my full-throated effort into whatever I'm doing, who among us wouldn't benefit from, like, who's the best mentor I can have to coach me on this? "
The Ocean Story: A Metaphor for Situational Power
Duckworth opens the book with a harrowing personal story about nearly losing her 86-year-old mother while snorkeling in the Atlantic Ocean. Despite being a strong swimmer who had always relied on effort and willpower, Duckworth found herself in a situation where trying harder wasn't working. The ocean current was too strong, and she had to stop fighting and instead signal for help—changing her situation rather than just trying harder in a bad one.
- Duckworth took her 86-year-old mother snorkeling 45 minutes by boat into the Atlantic Ocean
- Her mother aspirated water in both lungs and lost consciousness due to strong currents
- Duckworth realized that trying harder—her lifelong strategy—wasn't working and she needed to change the situation by signaling for help
- The metaphor illustrates that situations can swallow your efforts whole if you're in a losing environment
" The metaphor of the ocean, it is your situation. It is everything around you. And you know what? You can fight all you want. You can use willpower and grit. But if you are in a losing situation, your situation just like swallows your efforts whole. "
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