Grit is passion and perseverance for long-term and meaningful goals.

It is the ability to persist in something you feel passionate about and persevere when you face obstacles. This kind of passion is not about intense emotions or infatuation. It’s about having direction and commitment. When you have this kind of passion, you can stay committed to a task that may be difficult or boring.

Grit is also about perseverance. To persevere means to stick with it; to continue working hard even after experiencing difficulty or failure.

What can you do to help boost grit?

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Research indicates that the ability to be gritty—to stick with things that are important to you and bounce back from failure—is an essential component of success independent of and beyond what talent and intelligence contribute (Duckworth 2016).

Why is grit important?

I’m going to say it again because it’s worth repeating, and goes against what we’re taught in school and in our social circles. Grit is important because it is a driver of achievement and success, independent of and beyond what talent and intelligence contribute. Being naturally smart and talented are great, but to truly do well and thrive, we need the ability to persevere. Without grit, talent may be nothing more than unmet potential. It is only with effort that talent becomes a skill that leads to success (Duckworth 2016).

Without grit, talent may be nothing more than unmet potential.

So how can we (I include myself here as a therapist) help our clients become grittier? Not by demanding that they pull themselves up by their bootstraps or by setting unreasonable expectations and assuming teens can meet them all on their own. For teens to grow their grit, we need therapists like you to help them get there.

The best-known version of the golem legend takes place in Prague and revolves around the studious Rabbi Loew. The first practical instructions on creating a golem can be found in medieval commentaries on Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation). Originally, creating a golem was a way for medieval Jewish mystics to come closer to God.

Central to the golem legend is the human desire to create, together with a range of themes including creativity, control, power, and salvation. The golem also symbolizes each era's dreaded dangers and hopes for redemption.

Not all mosquitoes bite people or animals. When mosquitoes bite people, the most common reactions to the bite are itching and swelling.

Some mosquitoes can be vectors. A vector is an animal, insect, or tick that spreads pathogens (germs) to people and animals. The germs (viruses and parasites) that mosquitoes spread can make you sick.

Some mosquitoes bite, but do not spread germs. These types of mosquitoes are called nuisance mosquitoes.

Facts About Mosquitoes

• Adult mosquitoes live indoors and outdoors.

• Mosquitoes can bite day and night.

• Adult mosquitoes live for about 2 to 4 weeks depending on the species, humidity, temperature, and other factors. Female mosquitoes often live longer than male mosquitoes.

• Only female mosquitoes bite people and animals to get a blood meal. Female mosquitoes need a blood meal to produce eggs.

• Mosquitoes get infected with germs, such as viruses and parasites, when they bite infected people and animals.

• It takes just a few infected mosquitoes to start an outbreak in a community and put you and your family at risk of becoming sick.

COLORFUL CRITTERS

Chameleons mostly live in the rain forests and deserts of Africa. The color of their skin helps them blend in with their habitats. Chameleons that hang out in trees are usually green. Those that live in deserts are most often brown.

They often change color to warm up or cool down. (Turning darker helps warm the animals because the dark colors absorb more heat.) They also switch shades to communicate with other chameleons, using bright colors to attract potential mates or warn enemies.

So how exactly do chameleons change colors? The outer layer of their skin is see-through. Beneath that are layers of special cells filled with pigment—the substance that gives plants and animals (including you) color. To display a new color, the brain sends a message for these cells to get bigger or smaller. As this happens, pigments from different cells are released, and they mix with each other to create new skin tones. For instance, red and blue pigment may mix to make the chameleon look purple.

EYES EVERYWHERE

Over 150 species of chameleons exist, ranging from the size of your thumbnail to that of a house cat. Some species of chameleon (such as the tiger chameleon) are endangered, but others (like the Drakensberg dwarf chameleon) are not. No matter their differences, all chameleons have a prize pair of eyes. Their peepers can move in two different directions at once, giving the lizards a panoramic view of their surroundings. This eye-popping reptile really knows how to scale up the cool factor.

• Unlike services like Venmo and PayPal, which rely on the traditional financial system for permission to transfer money and on existing debit/credit accounts, bitcoin is decentralized: any two people, anywhere in the world, can send bitcoin to each other without the involvement of a bank, government, or other institution.

• Every transaction involving Bitcoin is tracked on the blockchain, which is similar to a bank’s ledger, or log of customers’ funds going in and out of the bank. In simple terms, it’s a record of every transaction ever made using bitcoin.

• Unlike a bank’s ledger, the Bitcoin blockchain is distributed across the entire network. No company, country, or third party is in control of it; and anyone can become part of that network.

• There will only ever be 21 million bitcoin. This is digital money that cannot be inflated or manipulated in any way.

• It isn’t necessary to buy an entire bitcoin: you can buy just a fraction of one if that’s all you want or need.