INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY AND GRIT i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 1
Intrinsic Spirituality and Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long Term Goals
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY AND GRIT i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 2
Abstract
Spirituality is often viewed as religiosity with a conceptualized idea that most spirituality
involves (denomination and non-denomination) church worship as well as organized celebrations
of one’s religion. The idea that religiosity must consist of a specified practice, with the
commitment to the religion itself has brought on (to many) a desire to live a life of divine
connection with oneself and with others while creating a sense of success through meaningful
work, divine worship, and commitment. i Spirituality alone is not a vehicle to success, and
although the application of perseverance in (one’s) daily life will bring by a sense of completion
and achievement, without spirituality, it may not always bring a feeling of self-worth. A study has
been conducted to find the correlation between the application of spirituality in one’s life and its
effect on (one’s) grit: perseverance and passion for long term goals.
Keywords: Spirituality, religiosity, commitment, grit
Results
Created to assess the relationship between Intrinsic Spirituality and Grit: Perseverance
and Passion for Long Term Goals, this survey consisted of a sample size of 21 participants with
ages ranging from 18 to above 49 years of age. Participants above the age of 49 accounted for
42.85% of participants, participants age group between 18-24 as well as participants age group
33-40 accounted for 9.5% of survey participants, age group 25-32 accounted for 14.28% of
participants and participants age group 41-48 made up 23.8% of participants (Figure 1), with a
mean of 3.76 and 1.41 standard deviation (Figure 2). Data collection took place via a survey and
was distributed to participants via email. Survey was conducted via a google form and filled out
by 21 of the 50 potential survey participants. Survey was confidential to protect the participants
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY AND GRIT i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 3
privacy and purpose of study was disclosed on google form. There were no conflicts in data
collection nor conduction of research study.
1. Participant Age Group 18 – 24
2 → 9.5%
2. Participant Age Group 25 – 32
3 → 14.28%
3. Participant Age Group 33 – 40
2 → 9.5%
4. Participant Age Group 41 – 48
5 → 23.8%
5. Participant Age Group 49 – and older
9 → 42.85%
Figure 1
Descriptive Statistic: Age of Participants
N
Minimum
Maximum
Mean
Std.
Deviation
Age
21
1.00
5.00
3.7619
1.41084
Valid N (listwise)
21
Figure 2
The purpose of this study is to find the correlation between one’s level of intrinsic
spirituality and how it affects their grit: perseverance for long term goals. The null hypothesis
states that there is no relationship between the level of intrinsic spirituality and one’s grit:
Perseverance and Passion for Long Term Goals. A Pearson’s r correlation test reveled that there
was a significant relationship between intrinsic spirituality and grit: perseverance and passion for
long term goals, r(21) = .024, p=.490 (Figure 3), CI= .95 (Figure 4) therefore we reject the null
hypothesis and find that grit: perseverance and passion for long term goals is affected by one’s
intrinsic spirituality. i
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY AND GRIT i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 4
Pearson’s r Correlation Test for Intrinsic Spirituality and Grit: Perseverance for Long Term Goals
Intrinsic Spirituality
Grit: Perseverance
Intrinsic Spirituality
Pearson Correlation
1
-.490*
Sig. (2-tailed)
.024
N
21
21
Grit: Perseverance
Pearson Correlation
-.490*
1
Sig. (2-tailed)
.024
N
21
21
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Figure 3
Figure 4
Discussion
Highly influenced by spirituality, one’s perseverance embeds significance and meaning to
one’s quality of life despite religious affiliations. Such feeling of meaning and completeness
allows for self-connection, self-realization and a mindset that encompasses positivity and
satisfaction (Dutta and Singh, 2017). The study conducted via survey to find the correlation
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY AND GRIT i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 5
between intrinsic spirituality and grit: perseverance and passion for lifelong goals, showed a
significant relationship between the two variables. Most participants in the study were middle
aged and over the age of 49, which imposed some limitations to the study results as these
participants have more life experience and show a heightened level of gratitude in comparison to
younger adults. Another study conducted on “Gratitude across the life Span: Age differences and
Links to Subjective Wellbeing” shows levels of optimism and interpersonal strength to be more
prominent in the older years, confirming my theory on the limitation of my own study. These
characteristics include forgiveness, positivity, and attachment security (Chopik, Newton and
Jarden 2017). Other studies have been conducted to find the relationship between chronological
age and its association with gratitude and showed similar results in the significance relationship
between the two variables. One theory suggests that because gratitude is an evolutionary
mechanism, it has a tendency of bringing individuals together, and due to aging adults having a
growing understanding that their lifetime is limited, they are more likely to be grateful, positive
and show a higher level of perseverance to achieve their lifelong goals, indicating aging adults are
more likely to emphasize priority in meaningful goals than those in their younger years.
At the infancy stage of my study on the relationship between intrinsic spirituality and grit:
perseverance for life term goals, there was a high level of interest in finding how intrinsic
spirituality affected one’s grit and perseverance. Once study was conducted and results showed a
much higher number of older participants in my study, I found the limitation of my study was a
contributing factor to the limitation of my research and I researched this limitation further.
Further studies on finding what percentage of young adults are motivated by spirituality and why
they differ from those that do not fall in the same age category are recommended. Finding the
variable that serves as a driving factor for younger adults in their grit: perseverance and passion
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY AND GRIT i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 6
for lifelong goals would be beneficial and the application of (said variable) would complement
many events that are likely to have a higher number of younger participants. These events would
include (but not be limited to) career training programs, life coach sessions for high school
graduates, military training programs for incoming cadets, et cetera.
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY AND GRIT i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 7
References
Intrinsic Spirituality as a Context for Motivation. (2019). Journal of Organizational Psychology,
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Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and
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1101. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087
Dutta, U. D., & Singh, A. S. (2017). Studying Spirituality in the context of Grit and Resilience of
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of College-Going Young Adults, 3(9), 50–55.
Chopik, W. J., Newton, N. J., Ryan, L. H., Kashdan, T. B., & Jarden, A. J. (2017). Gratitude
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