A quote from educational psychologist and author of the 2016 book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth, goes as follows: “[Grit is] perseverance and passion for long-term goals.”
Talent is defined as “natural aptitude or skill.” Talent is seen as a term used to describe something one has that comes naturally or effortlessly with little work.
In life, there are countless traits that enable an individual to achieve success. Among these characteristics are passion, discipline, intelligence, and resilience. Yet, many argue that grit and talent are the most valuable out of them all.
Many people have opposing and conflicting opinions about whether grit or talent is the better or more important trait to have.
Some strongly believe that talent is not even close in importance to grit. Junior Marlena Childs elaborates: “I think hard work beats talent no matter what.” Similarly to Duckworth’s belief, she has been quoted saying, “As much as talent counts, effort counts twice.”
Junior Isabella Costa explains, “You can be talented at anything, but if you don’t work hard for what you want in life, your talent won’t be recognized.”
On the contrary, some people are born with natural talents or traits that give them an advantage over others.
Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has a wingspan of six feet and seven inches while his height is six feet and four inches. This physical trait gave Phelps a natural advantage over his competitors during races. Many can attribute his success to his disproportionate wingspan.
However, at the 2016 Olympics, Joseph Schooling, who is six feet tall with a proportionate wingspan, beat Phelps in the 100m butterfly showing how talent does not always beat natural ability.
Sometimes talent can carry someone on the days they don’t feel like giving their full effort.
“I have personally seen so many athletes do something great purely off of talent,” Senior Brodie Scott explains. He continues, “But they often lack a strong work ethic. Talent without hard work and commitment to a sport or hobby can only get a person so far.”
Sophomore Jace Brigham resonates with Scott’s perspective: “I believe that both grit and talent play a big role in achieving goals… Many athletes have stories of not coming from a good place but working hard to get where they are. Hard work and grit are a little more important than talent.”
The general consensus—at least among Waterford High students—is that the majority of people believe hard work is more important than talent. They believe that success is not determined by sole natural ability, but defined by passionate determination and perseverance.
