True Grit Test

12/19/2012

The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.
E. E. Cummings

Psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, and West Point developed a Grit Scale, presented in The Intelligent Optimist (November 2012) to test their hypothesis that persistence was as important to success as intelligence. To measure your own grit, answer the following questions with A meaning very much like me, B mostly like me, C somewhat like me, D not much like me, and E not like me at all:

I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge.
New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones.
My interests change from year to year.
Setbacks don't discourage me.
I have been obsessed with a certain idea for a short time, but later lost interest.
I am a hard worker.
I often set a goal, but later choose to pursue a different one.
I have difficulty maintaining my focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete.
I finish whatever I began.
I have achieved a goal that took years of work.
I become interested in new pursuits every few months.
I am diligent.

Now its time to determine your grit score. For questions 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, and 12 assign the following points: a = 5, b = 4, c = 3, d = 2, e = 1. For questions 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, and 11 assign the following points: a = 1, b = 2, c = 3, d = 4, e = 5. Now, add all your points and divide by 12. The maximum score is 5 (meaning you are extremely gritty) and the lowest is 1 (you have no grit at all).

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