This post is a continuation of my previous article and tells the rest of the How to Be Successful story, according to keynote speaker Dr. Angela Duckworth.

From previous research, it seems that hard work outweighs talent. As long as you have grit, you’ll be successful. So, it should follow that if you just will yourself to do the thing, you will achieve greatness. Therefore, Dr. Duckworth instituted a series of interventions to improve children’s willpower. These interventions failed. Why is that?

It appears that you cannot just will yourself to greatness. You can’t hard work yourself to success. This is because we do not exist in an isolated vacuum. Two important factors influence the extent to which hard work will lead to greatness: situation and social support.

Change Your Situation, Change Your Future

Our future is defined by the present, and our present is defined by our situation. For example, if you want to stop eating so much candy at work, you must change your situation by removing the temptation. Dr. Duckworth explained this with an experiment performed by Wansink and Painter (2006). Either a clear or opaque jar of candy was placed either on secretaries’ desks or six feet away. The number of candies eaten was counted every night. What did they find?

Moving the jar farther away and reducing visibility in the opaque jar helped employees eat less candy. This experiment demonstrates that it is not willpower, but situational strategies that lead to success. Changing your situation, instead of relying on willpower, is more likely to support you in achieving your goals.

The Takeaway

Remove your phone from your study room. Maybe just start by removing time-wasting apps from your phone, like Tik Tok. Remove the temptation that stands in between you and your goals, and success will come so much easier.

Humans are Social Beings

The second factor that affects success outcomes is social support. We know that humans are social beings. The phrase, “it takes a village” is a truism in our society. Social support systems are an integral part of many facets in life. For example, having a satisfactory social support system decreases depression symptoms. It follows, then, that social support systems would be important to individual success, which is what Dr. Duckworth has found. There is an extensive literature on social support systems and their importance in our lives.

The Takeaway

Spend time strengthening your social support systems. If you find yourself straying from your path, reach out to these systems. To advance your success, tell your social support system about your goals. Verbalize your dream to your circle and own it!

Current Research

Dr. Duckworth noted that situational and social factors are often outside of our control, especially for children and adolescents (teens). This is where the research currently stands. For kids who cannot change their situation or social support, how can researchers help? Through community or family interventions? Research on this topic is important to improve equity in our society, so that every individual may have the opportunity to successfully achieve their goals.

What are your thoughts on this research? Did the title of this blog surprise you? Comment below!

xoxo,

k.c.

Photo credits: Google Images