There’s been a lot published in the last year about a steadfast "stick-to-it-ness" that gets people across the finish line. New York Times writer Paul Tough’s article "What if the Secret to Success is Failure" seems to suggest the school of hard knocks may build as much character to contribute toward academic success as anything else. Dr. Laura Markham chimes in on her Parenting Blog. She agrees grit is essential to making a success of one’s life. But in her view, it isn’t failure that helps kids develop grit, it’s emotional intelligence. It’s early parent-child interactions that develop self regulation.

Regardless of how we believe we adopt it, folks seem to agree grit is a key character trait to success. Dr. Angela Duckworth answers the question in her TedX talk: "True Grit: Can Perseverance Be Taught?" She defines grit as the perseverance and passion for a long term goal. She notes that successful people tend to not abandon tasks in the face of obstacles.

What makes a working adult muster up the grit to work full time, tend to families, yards, and bills and still hit the books (albeit e-books in our case) and strive toward achieving a degree at Texas's best online university? True grit. As evidenced in Duckworth’s research, one way to dig in the heels and really go for it is to have clear goals. Working adults who are motivated toward a clear goal tend to overcome obstacles with more resilience on the pathway to their credential. What’s your goal for earning your next credential? Is it to prove something to your children? Earn more and have a better life? Be respected by your colleagues and peers? Get to know your goal and focus on it.

Rather than being what Duckworth calls the bright and shiny fast boat that tacks back and forth and gets nowhere, let’s set our eyes on the harbor—the destination of earning the diploma, and let’s steer ever forward, come what may.