“How could it take you 5 minutes to cook your grits when it takes the entire grit-eating world 20 minutes?”
The microphone has just relocated from Joe Pesci’s hand to the courtroom floor.
It’s an iconic scene from an iconic movie to those of us who find Joe Pesci entertaining. There sits the Karate Kid (Ralph Macchio) accused of murder. His cousin Vinny Gambini, played by Mr. Pesci, comes to the rescue, sort of. In this scene, Vinny pokes a pretty serious hole in the prosecution. This is known as the Magic Grits Scene. (If you’re not tracking, take 1:17 to watch that scene. Go ahead. We’ll wait.)
Let’s put down our magic-filled grits for a spell and talk about a podcast I listened to recently. Ever listen to the Hidden Brain with Shankar Vedantam? Episode 26 is about a different kind of grit. The kind we sometimes think of as perseverance. In this episode we hear about a quality observed in grade school students that seems to predict success academically. That’s right, grit. This is contrary to the conventional wisdom that would state the most naturally interested or gifted would be most likely to succeed. It turns out the kids who just don’t quit have better odds. Talent and gifting doesn’t hurt. It’s just not a great predictor. Not like grit.
This is one view of course. Another study about the topic of grit in adults showed that it can be a handicap. One that causes you to fixate on a problem even though you’re not making progress. Study participants were even given unsolvable problems that didn’t seem stop them from spending way too much time trying to solve them.
Another facet of grit, or perhaps its positive outcomes, is that it seems a little bit like magic. Another way to consider it is like how we often confer a magical quality upon genius or inborn ability. We treat these phenomena as if there’s something mystical at play in these individuals. Almost a type of genetic or spiritual elevation. These people also work harder than their peers (not always but often) and make greater personal sacrifices. It’s a lot easier though to justify our own shortcomings if we think it’s because we lack some type of magic or universal blessing than to imagine we just might not be 1) trying all that hard or 2) truly committed to what we say we want.
That part is hard to hear. Even from yourself.
I think the Magic Grits Scene is the perfect illustration of this. The Grits represent your Thing, whatever that may be. Your life’s work. Your calling. Your destiny. Your identity. Whatever you’d like to call it. Those are your grits. To people watching from the outside, it looks a lot like magic. They don’t see what’s happening behind the curtain. They don’t understand that what looks like magic is really just a lot of practice finally paying off. At the same time, there’s no real payoff. You’re still hustling. You’re still putting yourself out there hoping this isn’t the time your neck gets caught on the block. Or worse, someone from the angry mob puts a knife to your throat. Figurative dream killers may lurk in any shadow.
They think you have 5 Minute Grits. They smell magic. They don’t realize you’re cooking 20 Minute Grits like the rest of the grit-eating world. Furthermore, there’s no such thing as 5 Minute Grits. There’s only ever been and will only ever be 20 Minute Grits. Even more furthermore, there’s only one way to cook these kind of grits.
Slowly. Purposefully. Daily.
(Yes, that’s one way.)
Give me 20 Minute Grits or give me grit.
It all tastes the same to me.
