Self-Control and Grit: Related but Separable Determinants of Success

Abstract

Other than talent and opportunity, what makes some people more successful than others? One important determinant of success is self-control - the capacity to regulate attention, emotion, and behavior in the presence of temptation. A second important determinant of success is grit - the tenacious pursuit of a dominant superordinate goal despite setbacks. Self-control and grit are strongly correlated, but not perfectly so. This means that some people with high levels of self-control capably handle temptations but do not consistently pursue a dominant goal. Likewise, some exceptional achievers are prodigiously gritty but succumb to temptations in domains other than their chosen life passion. Understanding how goals are hierarchically organized clarifies how self-control and grit are related but distinct: Self-control entails aligning actions with any valued goal despite momentarily more-alluring alternatives; grit, in contrast, entails having and working assiduously toward a single challenging superordinate goal through thick and thin, on a timescale of years or even decades. Although both self-control and grit entail aligning actions with intentions, they operate in different ways and at different time scales. This hierarchical goal framework suggests novel directions for basic and applied research on success.

Keywords: Self-control; achievement; grit; motivation; volition.

Figure 1

Hierarchical goal framework. Goals are typically organized hierarchically with fewer high-level goals and more numerous low-level goals; the latter are associated with action tendencies, here broadly construed to include attention, emotion, and behavior.

Figure 2

Schematic showing how self-control is required to adjudicate between conflicting actions, one of which is aligned with an enduringly valued goal, and another of which – although temporarily stronger – is aligned with a less enduringly valued goal. Self-control may consist in suppressing the momentarily alluring goal or potentiating the more enduringly valued goal.

Figure 3

Schematics illustrating processes underlying grit. Grit entails having a dominant superordinate goal, pursued with passion and perseverance, often over years or decades. The goal hierarchy that corresponds to an individual’s chosen passion may require the suppression of rival superordinate goals (a). When a particular lower-order goal or action is blocked, new goals or actions are generated and then pursued with vigor (b).