Why Grit Isn’t Always Enough with Angela Duckworth

What if grit isn’t the whole story behind success? Psychologist and author Angela Duckworth joins Brené Brown and Adam Grant to talk about her new book, Situated, and how the situations around us influence our behavior, motivation, creativity, and success. They unpack situational awareness, the paradox of self-control, and why willpower can be an unreliable tool for change. Angela also shares practical ways to shape your environment, reduce friction around your goals, and decide whether to keep going versus change course. Together, they explore how becoming more intentional about our surroundings, relationships, and support systems is often more powerful than simply trying harder.

Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best - Angela Duckworth, 2026, Scribner (author's book page) (angeladuckworth.com/situated)

Situated Preface (excerpt) - Angela Duckworth, 2026, web excerpt with audiobook sample, angeladuckworth.com (angeladuckworth.com/situated-excerpt)

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance - Angela Duckworth, 2016, Scribner (angeladuckworth.com/grit)

Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals - Angela Duckworth, Christopher Peterson, Michael Matthews & Dennis Kelly, 2007, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087)

Too Much of a Good Thing: The Challenge and Opportunity of the Inverted U - Adam Grant & Barry Schwartz, 2011, Perspectives on Psychological Science (marketing.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads…)

Situational Strategies for Self-Control - Angela Duckworth, Tamar Szabó Gendler & James Gross, 2016, Perspectives on Psychological Science (doi.org/10.1177/1745691615623247)

Beyond Willpower: Strategies for Reducing Failures of Self-Control - Angela Duckworth, Katherine Milkman & David Laibson, 2018, Psychological Science in the Public Interest (doi.org/10.1177/1529100618821893)

Oxford Essential Quotations (George Bernard Shaw entry) - Susan Ratcliffe (ed.), 2018, reference-work entry, Oxford Reference / Oxford University Press (oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780….)

Maxims for Revolutionists - George Bernard Shaw, 1903; Project Gutenberg edition 2008, public-domain e-text, Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26107/pg26107-images.…)

Figure This: Deciding What's Figure, What's Ground - Adelson, 2002, Monitor on Psychology (American Psychological Association) (apa.org/monitor/jun02/figurethis)

LinkedIn post on situations - Angela Duckworth, 2025, social-media post, LinkedIn (linkedin.com/posts/angeladuckworth_behaviorals…)

The Four Essential Elements of Successful Situations - Duckworth, 2026, book excerpt (online article), Knowledge at Wharton (knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-four-e…)

Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit - Brené Brown, 2025, Random House (brenebrown.com/book/strong-ground)

Angela Duckworth on Her New Book, ‘Grit’ Controversy, and Parenting in a Digital Age - Fiorillo, 2026, Philadelphia Magazine (phillymag.com/news/2026/09/02/angela-duckworth…)

Rethinking Rumination - Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Blair Wisco & Sonja Lyubomirsky, 2008, Perspectives on Psychological Science (researchgate.net/publication/228079435_Rethink…)

Self-Focused Attention and Negative Affect: A Meta-Analysis - Nilly Mor & Jennifer Winquist, 2002, Psychological Bulletin (doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.128.4.638)

Situated Scorecard - Angela Duckworth, 2026, interactive self-assessment (web page), angeladuckworth.com (angeladuckworth.com/situated#scorecard)

Situated Scorecard Handout - Angela Duckworth, 2026, PDF handout, angeladuckworth.com (angeladuckworth.com/s/Situated_Scorecard-Hando…)

Self-Control and SAT Outcomes: Evidence from Two National Field Studies - Chayce Baldwin, Kyla Haimovitz, Priya Shankar, Robert Gallop, David Yeager, James Gross & Angela Duckworth, 2022, PLOS ONE (journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/j…)

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - Robert Cialdini, 2021; first published 1984, Harper Business (author's organization site) (influenceatwork.com)

As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7 - William Shakespeare, c. 1599, Folger Shakespeare Library (folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/as-you-l…)

More Than Resisting Temptation: Beneficial Habits Mediate the Relationship Between Self-Control and Positive Life Outcomes - Brian Galla & Angela Duckworth, 2015, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fpspp0…)

Wendy Wood – Publications - Wendy Wood, faculty web page, USC Dornsife (dornsife.usc.edu/wendy-wood/publication)

Habits in Everyday Life: Thought, Emotion, and Action - Wendy Wood, Jeffrey Quinn & Deborah Kashy, 2002, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (dornsife.usc.edu/wendy-wood/wp-content/uploads…)

Asaf Mazar - Asaf Mazar, personal website (asafmazar.com)

Alistair Brownlee | The Greatest to Ever Do It - World Triathlon, 2024, video, YouTube (youtube.com/watch?v=DG7mWziOjtk)

The Paradox of a Pair of Clocks. The Magic of Chronos and Kairos or Why I Wear Two Watches! - Brené Brown, 2026, social-media post (from an AMA), LinkedIn / The Curiosity Shop (linkedin.com/posts/brenebrown_the-paradox-of-a…)

Quote Origin: Between Stimulus and Response There Is a Space. In That Space Is Our Power To Choose Our Response - O'Toole, 2018, Quote Investigator (quoteinvestigator.com/2018/02/18/response)

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment - Eckhart Tolle, 1997, Namaste Publishing / New World Library (author site) (eckharttolle.com)

32% of Americans Have a Tattoo, Including 22% Who Have More Than One - Schaeffer & Dinesh, 2023, short-read survey report, Pew Research Center (pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/15/32-of-a…)

Prepared Environment - Association Montessori Internationale, glossary entry, AMI glossary (archives.montessori-ami.org/help/glossary/prep…)

Understanding the Three-Year Cycle in Montessori - Maria Rodriguez, web article, The Montessori Foundation (montessori.org/understanding-the-three-year-cy…)

Piagetian Theory - American Psychological Association, dictionary entry, APA Dictionary of Psychology (dictionary.apa.org/piagetian-theory)

For the Fun of It: Harnessing Immediate Rewards to Increase Persistence in Long-Term Goals - Kaitlin Woolley & Ayelet Fishbach, 2016, Journal of Consumer Research (kaitlinwoolley.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/…)

Mask-Wearing Needs to Be Easy, Understood and Expected - Duckworth, Ungar & Emanuel, 2020, op-ed reprint, Penn Almanac (original in The New York Times) (almanac.upenn.edu/articles/mask-wearing-needs-…)

Everyday Temptations: An Experience Sampling Study of Desire, Conflict, and Self-Control - Wilhelm Hofmann, Roy Baumeister, Georg Förster & Kathleen Vohs, 2012, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (assets.csom.umn.edu/assets/lib/assets/AssetLib…)

Trait Self-Control and the Avoidance of …