Angela Duckworth: Why Grit isn’t Enough and How to Get Situated

Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit, returns with a powerful new idea: success depends not only on your character and perseverance, but also on the people, places, cultures, and environments surrounding you. In her new book, Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best, the University of Pennsylvania and Wharton professor explains why grit and willpower are sometimes not enough. Instead of always asking, “What’s wrong with me?” Angela suggests asking a different question: “What’s wrong with my situation—and how can i change it?” In this conversation, Angela explains how to intentionally create situations that make success, better relationships, and positive change more likely. They explore how to recognize a culture that is holding you back, choose influential peers, find mentors without awkwardly asking someone to “be your mentor,” and design an environment that makes good decisions easier. Angela also discusses what Taylor Swift understood about the power of place, how parents shape children through behavior rather than lectures, and how changing the situation helped Angela and her husband navigate a crisis in their marriage. The conversation concludes with a wider examination of political polarization, social media, smartphones, public education, and the environments that increasingly separate us from people who think differently. Topics include: • Why grit is necessary but not sufficient • How your environment shapes your behavior and identity • When perseverance becomes a reason to remain in the wrong situation • How culture and peer groups influence career decisions• Practical strategies for finding mentors • Parenting through modeling rather than lecturing • Changing the situation instead of trying to change your spouse • Social media, smartphones, and political polarization • How to design surroundings that bring out your best Get Angela Duckworth’s new book, Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best:https://www.angeladuckworth.com/situatedGet Angela's Best Selling Book Grit: https://www.angeladuckworth.com/grit Angela Duckworth is a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of the international bestseller Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, which has sold more than five million copies. Her new book is Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best.