What is "Grit" ?

      I read another fascinating blog, http://www.schoolofsmock.com/2013/05/17/how-do-we-teach-our-kids-grit/, that challenged my thinking, both as a parent and as a future educator. Why is "grit" so fascinating and important to me? Well, I guess it's because I truthfully had never heard of it before or thought that it existed until now, and it was definitely not introduced into my life either by my parents or any of the teachers I had throughout my school years.
      So, according to Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grit_%28personality_trait%29 "grit (personality trait) in psychology is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual's passion for a particular long-term goal or endstate, coupled with a powerful motivation to achieve their respective objective". In other words, once you have a goal, a passion, that you want to achieve, one is so motivated to accomplish it that nothing, not even set backs or failures will impede in your endeavor.
      Additionally, tip #6, "remind your kids every day that failure is not something to be afraid of"(from the original blog) is a very powerful message that I wish my parents and educators had instilled in me. For me personally, the idea of failure terrified me because of two things; first, I'm adopted from Colombia, and secondly my adoptive parents are two highly educated individuals who stressed the importance of succeeding in everything. Every time that I failed at something, I felt like a failure, and thus to this day, it's hard for me to attempt new things for the fear of failure.
      However, had my parents or my teachers, taught me that it's okay to fail and that failing makes you stronger and encouraged me to learn from my failures, then perhaps, I would have more grit! Also, as a parent, I'm grateful to have learned about this personality trait and now I can work harder to teach my own child to be tenacious and determined.