Got grit. What about resilience?

White-knuckling is not a long-term strategy.

Americans got grit. But we need something else.

Grit, as defined by psychologist Angela Duckworth, is “a combination of passion and perseverance for a singularly important goal.” It is “the hallmark of high achievers in every domain.”

Can you picture the clenched jaw and gritted teeth of someone who has grit? In the movies, it’s a lone hero pushing through pain, white-knuckling their way to victory. In real life, it’s an exhausted yet wired mortal with stress-induced teeth-grinding and a mouthguard at bed time.

Deployed selectively, grit can be awesome. Think of a reporter on deadline, determined to tell the world about the injustice she witnessed. Or a mom cheering at her child’s soccer game with crippling menstrual cramps and a raging headache. Over the long run, this “strength” can become a stress response the body doesn’t know how to recover from. That’s when grit is not great.

If we want to achieve our goals and balance stress, avoid burnout, recover from trauma and nurture health…