How Grit Helps You Achieve Your GMAT Goals

Somewhat famously (her TED Talk has 14 million views on YouTube and nearly 33 million on ted.com), math teacher turned psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth studied public school students, teachers, salespeople, cadets at West Point Military Academy, and National Spelling Bee contestants to find the common predictors of success among them.

Surprisingly, the one characteristic that the most successful people in all of these different groups shared wasn’t IQ. It was GRIT.

In addition, Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck had a similar observation. She studied thousands of students to determine what tendencies led some to achieve higher grades. In doing so, she discovered that the key to their achievement was what she called a “growth mindset.”

While some students found learning-related setbacks discouraging, and thus avoided further challenges, students with a growth mindset bounced back from setbacks and welcomed challenges as opportunities. The result? Unsurprisingly, the first group plateaued, continuing to perform poorly. Conversely, the second group was able to persevere through rough patches and ultimately improve their performance.

How grit helps you achieve your GMAT goals?

Grit is incredibly valuable for anyone preparing for the GMAT but especially for test-takers who worry that their grasp of GMAT concepts isn’t up to par. For example, maybe your Quantitative Reasoning skills have gotten rusty. Or perhaps Verbal Reasoning has always been an area where you’ve felt weak. Whatever the reason for your lack of confidence, the key is to keep going. Instead of viewing your setbacks as walls, view them as stepping stones.

The truth is, anyone can learn GMAT concepts provided they work hard enough and long enough. As a GMAT teacher, I’ve seen it firsthand time and time again.

So, if you’re having issues staying motivated in your GMAT preparation or reaching your long-term goals, consider whether a mindset shift is in order. Check out Angela Duckworth’s TED Talk linked above. Read up on Carol Dweck’s research.

Then, keep going!!

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep