Helping young people succeed goes beyond providing basic education and meeting their basic needs. It means teaching them how to keep going when things get tough.
Life for many young people can be full of challenges. Pressure to do well in school, meet expectations, and figure out who they are. Confronting these challenges can be overwhelming, especially when things don’t go as planned. That’s why it’s so important to support young people in seeing challenges not as roadblocks, but as chances to grow.
Empowering young individuals to grow through challenges goes beyond merely providing them with tools or teaching them these coping skills. It’s also about building an environment that helps them feel capable, hopeful, and open to learning; even when things are hard. This is where the idea of grit comes in.
Understanding Grit
“Fall seven times, get up eight,” this Japanese proverb captures the essence of what psychologist Angela Duckworth describes grit to be: “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.” It’s a traditional saying about resilience and perseverance — no matter how many times you’re knocked down, you keep getting back up, until you succeed.
Grit means having stamina, sticking with your future day in and day out, not just for weeks or months, but for years. It’s approaching life like a marathon rather than a sprint.
Grit isn’t about talent or intelligence. In fact, when Duckworth and her team studied success across various settings—from military cadets to spelling bee finalists, rookie teachers, and salespeople—grit emerged as one of the strongest predictors of success. Not IQ. Not physical health. Not social skills. But the ability to persist, day after day, in pursuit of something meaningful.
Julie Quansing-Rowlands, the junior school head at St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls in Perth, noted that after years of piling on rewards and affirmations—like 100% grades and participation awards/stickers—students had become ill-equipped to handle failure. She made headlines explaining why the school deliberately reduced praise and participation awards, and even assigned work that was intentionally challenging so students could experience failure as a learning opportunity. “When they do finally experience failure, they are unable to cope with this feeling… We want to give students praise for what they have control over… to develop perseverance.” This shift aimed to foster resilience, persistence, and a growth mindset by giving children genuine challenges—and letting them face and overcome them—rather than shielding them with endless positive reinforcement.
Picture a young individual who is learning to play a new instrument like the guitar. At first, the chords sound terrible, rough and uneven, their fingers stumble over the strings, and frustration quickly creeps in. They may initially want to give up. However, a part of them might then decide, “Try again tomorrow.” That moment—that choice—is grit in action.
Grit grows best when young people feel safe enough to take risks, fumble, make mistakes, and even fail. It also helps when they’re surrounded by adults who encourage them, believe in their potential, keep trying and remind them that setbacks don’t define who they are.
The Link Between Resilience and Building Emotional Buoyancy
The relationship between grit and resilience forms the foundation of emotional development in young people. While resilience offers what experts refer to as “emotional buoyancy” – the ability to thrive in the face of adversity rather than just survive it— grit gives you the constant drive to work toward long-term goals.
Resilience develops through the experiences and supports that help young people keep going when life gets tough—essentially, it’s how grit is built. The compensatory model of resilience explains one way this happens: protective factors can directly counterbalance risks by providing their own positive effects. For example, a caring mentor or supportive adult can soften the impact of a challenging home life, offering guidance, encouragement, and stability. These supports foster not only resilience but also a growth mindset, helping young people see setbacks as opportunities to learn rather than as failures.
Imagine a teenager who has to change schools frequently because of family circumstances. At first glance, this constant upheaval might seem like a setback. Yet over time, it could nurture exceptional adaptability—an ability to walk into unfamiliar classrooms, connect with new peers, and navigate different environments with growing confidence. Protective factors, like mentors or supportive community connections, can help offset the risks of instability. But if the moves happen too often and these supports are missing, the same experience could lead to loneliness and anxiety.
The Growth Mindset Foundation
At the core of grit development is what Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck refers to as a “growth mindset.” This signifies a significant change in the way young people view their potential and abilities. People who have a fixed mindset think that skills, intelligence, and capabilities are static traits that cannot be significantly changed. When faced with challenges, they often view them as proof of their own shortcomings.
On the other hand, people who have a development mentality, realise that skills are like muscles that get stronger with practice. They see obstacles as chances to grow their capabilities and create new neural pathways. “I’m terrible at math, so there’s no point in trying,” a student with a fixed mindset might think. Whereas a growth mindset student would think something like, “I’m still learning these math concepts but haven’t mastered them yet”.
The power of this simple word “yet” can’t be overstated. It turns absolute statements into temporary conditions, creating space for improvement and maintaining hope during difficult periods. When young people understand that their current limitations are not permanent, they become more willing to engage with challenging material and persist through initial struggles.
Strategies to Foster Resilience
1. Challenge Unhelpful Thinking Patterns
Resilience starts with recognising and interrupting negative thought patterns like catastrophising, mind-reading, and all-or-nothing thinking. Encouraging young people to ask, “What’s a more helpful way to think about this?” helps shift their mindset towards balance and problem-solving. Optimism can be modelled and taught by showing how to view setbacks as temporary and specific, rather than permanent and personal.
2. Implement the “Hard Thing Rule”
Following Duckworth’s recommendation, encourage young people to choose one challenging activity they commit to for an extended period. Whether it’s learning an instrument, training for a sport, or mastering a skill, this commitment teaches them that meaningful achievement requires sustained effort over time. For example, if a student takes part in a school swimming race and doesn’t finish in their desired position, or misses out on selection for the netball team they were hoping for, they are faced with a choice. They might feel disappointed and do nothing, or they can choose to channel that disappointment into motivation by training harder, practising more consistently, and aiming for better results next time. The same principle applies academically: when a student receives a disappointing grade on a math or spelling test, they can either dwell on the setback or use it as motivation to study more effectively and prepare more for the next one.
3. Create Environments That Normalise Struggle
Adults play a crucial role in shaping how young people handle difficulties. By openly sharing stories of their own personal setbacks and the steps they took to overcome them, adults help make struggle feel normal and show that growth takes time. When young people see adults talking honestly about their failures and what they learned from them, it reframes difficulty as a normal part of growth rather than a sign of personal shortcomings.
4. Rethink Feedback and Achievement
Rather than emphasising the final results, it’s helpful for adults to highlight effort. For example, instead of saying, “You got 90% on your test,” you might say, “I noticed how you studied every night and asked for help when you got stuck – that really shows your dedication.” The same goes for challenges – whether it’s a tricky math problem or a group project, try asking, “What do you think you could try next?”, rather than handing over the answer. This approach helps young people see that struggle is part of learning, builds their confidence, and shows that you believe they can figure things out and grow.
5. Address Modern-Day Challenges
Today’s youth face unique hurdles in developing grit, including the lure of instant gratification and constant comparison via social media. These pressures can undermine patience and resilience. Adults can counteract this by promoting digital literacy, setting realistic expectations for success, and encouraging offline activities that highlight the connection between sustained effort and meaningful results.
6. Redefine Failure as Learning
Failure isn’t the end – it’s an essential part of the learning process. Adults can model how to respond to failure with curiosity, reflection and resilience. Activities like creating a “failure CV” where young people record challenges and what they learned from them, help reframe mistakes as growth opportunities. Asking reflective questions — What did I learn? How did I grow? — strengthens a mindset focused on improvement rather than perfection.
7. Track Progress and Celebrate Small Wins
Grit develops over time, and recognising ongoing effort is key. Tracking small successes like consistent practice, problem-solving attempts reinforces motivation and persistence. Tools like reflection journals allow young people to see their growth and stay engaged, even when outcomes take time to manifest.
Looking Forward
Building grit in young people isn’t about removing obstacles or offering easy answers—it’s about helping them embrace challenges, persist through setbacks, and see effort as the path to growth. When adults model resilience, normalise struggle, and encourage reflection on mistakes, they nurture a growth mindset that turns difficulties into learning opportunities. When we teach them to embrace struggle, reflect on failure, and persist through setbacks, we prepare them not just for success but for the deeper satisfaction that comes from knowing they can handle whatever challenges await them. They come to appreciate the process of growth as much as the end goals, discovering fulfilment in the journey of growth rather than just in final accomplishments.
In this way, young people don’t just achieve—they develop the confidence and determination to tackle whatever comes next, finding satisfaction not only in results but in the courage, effort, and perseverance that carry them forward.
