Teaching Students to Persevere Without Getting Burned Out

Nearly a decade ago, education embraced “grit” as a solution to challenges in student achievement and educator resilience as popularized in psychologist Angela Duckworth’s TED Talk. Duckworth’s research championed perseverance—working through adversity—as the path to success. Grit was especially emphasized for underserved students, suggesting that sheer determination could help them overcome systemic barriers. Struggle and failure were reframed as growth opportunities, and the message was clear: Push harder to succeed.

As education grew more focused on outcomes and accountability, grit seemed to fit seamlessly. Students were encouraged to persevere, and educators under mounting pressure were reminded to do the same. For a while, grit was the answer.

The Shift to Self-Care

By 2020, however, burnout and fatigue had shifted the focus to self-care. Especially during the pandemic, educators were urged to set boundaries and protect students’ mental health. Pausing, rather than pushing, became the new priority.

Yet, self-care raises important questions about its impact. In its best form, self-care creates opportunities for peak performance, sustains one’s level over time, or enhances joy and health. Without tracking outcomes, however, self-care risks becoming a buzzword, promoting rest without measuring impact. In prioritizing self-care, we’ve swung too far from perseverance, turning retreat into the default response to difficulty and leaving resilience behind.

The Middle Ground Combining Grit and Self-Care

The truth is, grit and self-care aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, they’re complementary. The challenge in teaching isn’t in choosing one over the other—it’s in figuring out how to integrate them both effectively. We need to help students develop resilience and the ability to push through tough moments while also recognizing when it’s time to take a break, recharge, and protect our well-being.

Perseverance without self-care leads to burnout. But self-care without perseverance leads to a lack of progress. Both extremes are harmful in the long run, and our job as educators is to help students—and ourselves—integrate these two concepts to thrive.

So how do we do that?

Teach students the value of perseverance by helping them develop mental toughness. Grit is not just about pushing through difficulty; it’s about fostering a mindset that accepts challenges as opportunities for growth. We need to explicitly teach students to embrace adversity and persist through it, as is demonstrated in the Adversity Walk. This includes practicing problem-solving skills, doing perseverance drills, and helping students reflect on their personal growth over time. Developing grit in students means equipping them with strategies to endure through frustration or failure and emerge stronger.

Create opportunities for students to set and achieve meaningful goals. Grit without purpose can lead to burnout. It’s essential to help students identify clear, meaningful goals that drive their efforts. By working toward something specific, students are more likely to persevere because they have a defined outcome in mind. Teachers can support this by guiding students in goal-setting exercises, ensuring that those goals are realistic but challenging and checking in on progress regularly.

For example, while this is simple, any student who meets their MAPS or STAR growth goals or attains the 50th percentile receives a ping-pong ball that helps fill a large container in front of the school. When an arbitrary line is reached, the result is a reward for the school. This forces each student to have an individual goal that they track (and care about) and to have them understand that they contribute to the larger goal as well. 

Model rest and recovery as part of the resilience-building process. It’s not enough to tell students to push through adversity—we need to show them how to recover after pushing. Demonstrating when and how to pause for rest after intense efforts helps students understand that recovery is essential to building long-term resilience. Teachers need to model this in their own practice, encouraging students to incorporate downtime into their work cycles to recharge for future challenges.

One easy way to do this is for administrators and teachers to work together to ensure that not all courses (particularly in the core) are testing and having capstone projects at the same time. This allows for a staggered approach so that students can adequately pace themselves.

Psychologist and resilience researcher Lucy Hone’s TED Talk does a great job of discussing rest and recovery as part of personal resilience. 

Teach students how to recognize their limits and pace themselves. This is essential for students to build resilience and achieve long-term success. Grit works best when paired with self-awareness, allowing students to gauge their energy levels, identify burnout signs, and manage their pace effectively. Guiding students in setting realistic short- and long-term goals that reflect their priorities helps them track progress and periodically reassess their focus.

This goal-setting approach encourages students to understand when they need to pause and recharge, preventing overexertion and fostering sustainable effort over time. Integrating self-care into their perseverance plans ensures that students see that constant pushing, without moments for recovery, ultimately limits their capacity for growth and achievement

Celebrate both effort and outcomes to reinforce a balanced approach. While it’s important to celebrate success, recognizing effort, especially with difficult or prolonged tasks, reinforces the value of perseverance. A balanced approach means rewarding students not just for achieving goals but also for sticking with difficult tasks along the way. This helps create a culture where both grit and self-care are seen as vital tools for success, reinforcing the idea that hard work and well-being are partners in long-term growth.

Moving Forward

The education system has teeter-tottered between grit and self-care, but now it’s time to bring both concepts together. Instead of letting one philosophy replace the other, we need to acknowledge that both are vital components of success. Yes, we need to persevere through challenges, but we also need to take care of ourselves along the way.

In the end, the goal is to create an environment where educators and students alike can thrive—not by choosing between grit and self-care, but by embracing both. Because the real answer to resilience and lasting success in education isn’t in extremes—it’s in integrating the best of both worlds.