Some of you may have read Angela Duckworth’s enormously popular book Grit. I did. In fact, my family had a little book club around it.

Her argument was that passion and perseverance are essential ingredients of success. Talent alone isn’t enough. You’ve got to keep going.

Well, now she’s written another book, Situated, and what’s fascinating is that she’s reconsidering part of her own thinking.

Because sometimes grit isn’t enough.

Sometimes the problem isn’t that you’re not trying hard enough. Sometimes it’s the situation you’re in.

Think about swimming against a current. You can be the strongest swimmer in the world, but if the current is powerful enough, you’re going to exhaust yourself.

What if, instead of trying harder, you changed direction? Found calmer water? Asked someone to help you?

Duckworth explores how much our surroundings influence our behavior—the people we spend time with, the environments we create, even the things we keep within reach.

And here’s the part I find liberating.

We’re often told that if we want to change something about ourselves, we need more discipline. More willpower. More determination.

But what if we could make the change easier by changing the situation?

Want to read more? Put a book where you usually reach for your phone.

Want to exercise? Make plans with someone who’s expecting you.

Want to be more creative? Spend time with people who encourage you to try things.

Those are my everyday examples of her larger idea.

Sometimes the most courageous thing isn’t to keep pushing harder.

It’s to recognize that you have some power to change the conditions in which you’re trying to succeed.

Maybe the problem isn’t entirely you.

Maybe some of it is the water you’re swimming in.