‘Grit’ is an overrated concept in sports and in life | Opinion

In 2007, Angela Duckworth published a paper entitled “Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals.” The paper was based on sample sizes from the Ivy League, West Point Students and participants in the national spelling bee. In May 2013, Duckworth gave a TedTalk on the subject, and soon grit was a part of the stable of our vernacular.

But almost two decades later, there is a compelling case to stop perpetuating grit. Let me explain.

The research on grit is based on two very unique groups of people; cadets at our largest military school and spelling bee participants. Each of us might understand why grit might come in handy for these two groups. For example, most of us probably intuitively want a gritty group of cadets which will do whatever it takes to vanquish the enemy. Likewise in spelling, there is no way to really learn all the words, without a ton of time and repetition.

However, let’s examine grit in practice; what happens when grit is applied in sports, war and politics?

Maybe three of the grittiest players, in their sports, are Tiger Woods, Draymond Green and Corey Perry. Each has won multiple championships; Green, four NBA Championships, Perry three Stanley Cups and Woods 15 majors. Each has a reputation for grit, including a viral video of Tiger Woods recounting his training during his prime:

“Well, I used to get up in the morning, run four miles,” Woods said. “Then I’d go to the gym, do my lift. Then I’d hit balls for two to three hours. I’d go play, come back, work on my short game. I’d go run another four more miles, and then if anyone wanted to play basketball or tennis, I would go play basketball or tennis. That was a daily routine.”

The downside? While they have had success, they have all suffered consequences for their grit. In fact, in the case of Tiger Woods, it could be said that excess grit became a catalyst for injuries and pain which prematurely ended his career. In the cases of Perry and Green, excessive grit seems to be a cause of their behavior which now threatens their careers.

The case against grit, isn’t just on the playing field. It also extends to the battle field. The problem is in the Middle East and Ukraine, grit has become fuel for these conflicts to continue, as neither side wants to back down.

Grit is also on full display in the melee of charges against former president Trump. In each case, Trump seems to wish to push through the charges, essentially using grit as a sole defense against evidence and facts.

The fact is that while grit is easy to peddle, the ramifications are far reaching and devastating. In the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, tens of thousands of people have died because of the grit of a few in leadership. In sports, kids have been taught values around grit and winning which undermines the very integrity of sports. In our democracy, grit has become a weapon used by both parties to stop governing.

Each of us have a finite time on this planet. Grit should not be a motivation for how we spend this time. Instead, we should do things which we find interesting, compelling and bring us joy. For most of us, that shouldn’t include spending time memorizing words or trying to beat the college admissions process; no matter what Duckworth or her research says.

In my own research with colleagues, we have found that grit is associated with negative outcomes for kids in youth sports down the road. Analyzing a national sample with the number of respondents about three times larger than the original study, we found that kids who were peddled grit in youth sports, yet dropped out of youth sports, had lower mental well-being in adulthood relative to kids who never participated at all. That is, grit destroyed all the benefit of sports for those who quit, who were likely driven away from sport by the all-consuming environment.

After almost two decades, it is time that we stop touting grit. The evidence is that grit is a social construct which does far more harm then good. In fact, grit has no legitimate purpose in our every day lives. Instead, grit is the fuel which perpetuates the worst in us in everything from sports to politics to war. It’s time we rethink the role of grit and move towards a different framework.

Brendan Ryan is an entrepreneur and scientist. He applies his interests in a wide variety of areas to write about business, sports and life in general.