Grit is a combination of character traits, such as self-control, passion and perseverance. Many modern psychologists, educators and parents now believe it's more important for success in life than good grades at school or an outstanding intelligence. At a Stanford experiment in the late 1960s, psychologists Walter Michelle put kids in front of one tasty marshmallow. The four-year-old children were then promised another one if they had enough willpower not to eat the one in front of them. Then they were left alone for 15 minutes. Some kids hid below the table. Those who were able to delay their gratification got a second treat and many years later became more accomplished adults. They were more healthy, had higher test scores at school, and were socially more competent. Professor Michelle and the marshmallow test became famous. Angela Duckworth, a popular psychologist, later invented the so-called Grit Scale, a questionnaire to predict success. One question. Do I finish what I began? She then interviewed gifted business women, accomplished scientists and other successful people. She found out that self-control, passion and perseverance were better indicators for success than a high IQ score or fine genes. Let's examine the reasons behind this. Passion leads us to pursue careers that we love. Once we love something, we work hard to succeed and as a result, can reach excellence. Self-control allows us to wait even if something looks very attractive. This is important because one day, a better option might present itself. And perseverance means we keep fighting despite obstacles. It's essential to complete projects that then grow our self-confidence through social recognition. The most gifted minds can't even start if they like passion and inspiration. One way to develop Grit is to realise that we can eliminate our weaknesses with practice. We can learn a new thing by practicing long enough to see actual progress, but we can also study the lives of our role models. Then we understand that football stars train every day and receive constant feedback from professional coaches to develop specific skills. Once we internalise that we can improve our skills, we might realise that we can also practice willpower. For example, to change to a vegetarian diet is hard, but if you start small and try to cut out beef every Sunday, you might soon realise that you can also skip chicken during the week. And when that happens, you learn that you can grow willpower like any other muscle in your body. Then anything is possible, even to become a vegetarian. When we realise that our brain is like any other muscle that grows with training, then willpower and self-control are just a matter of practice. And once we've practiced something long enough, it can become a habit or even our passion. Some 2,000 years ago Aristotle supposedly wrote, we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit. Maybe he was right. What do you think about grit? If you like our videos and want to support our channel, visit us at patreon.com slash sprouts and see if you want to donate just one dollar. With your support, we plan to create many more minute videos about learning and education.