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Situated

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What to expect

From the #1 bestselling author of Grit, a new book that reveals the hidden power of situations - and how you can shape them to bring out your best.

In Angela Duckworth’s first book, she showed that a common denominator of successful strivers is a blend of passion and perseverance she dubbed 'grit.' This new book springs from her deepening realization that grit, while necessary, is sometimes not sufficient. How you situate yourself to meet a challenge can be crucial.

Duckworth’s in-depth research reveals the enormous influence wielded by the objects within arm’s reach, your peers and mentors, and even where you live. Though you’re often told to make the best of your situation, it is far, far better to make your situation better first.

In Situated, you’ll discover:

  • Why your personality changes, sometimes dramatically, from one situation to another – and how you can harness that shift
  • The secret to conquering temptation without willpower
  • Why taking the less effortful path can feel like cheating but often solves a stubborn problem
  • How the company you keep shapes the person you become
  • The most effective ways to help others succeed


Highlighting four essential elements of successful situations, Duckworth shows how high performers like Taylor Swift, Michael Phelps and Jerry Seinfeld create situations that make the most of their grit. And with disarming honesty, she shares her own struggles with burnout and marriage – and how learning to change her situation, not herself, made all the difference.

Whatever it is you want to achieve, there’s a situation that can make your journey easier.

It takes effort to make your situation your ally – but a little effort goes a long way ... when you get situated.

‘If you read one book this year to level up your life, make it this one’ MEL ROBBINS

'For anyone who feels stuck, this book offers a path to something new' CAROL DWECK
© Angela Duckworth 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Critics Review

Angela Duckworth has done it again. Situated is the book you read when you’re tired of being told to ‘just try harder.’ Duckworth proves that the fastest way to change your results is to change your situation – your environment, your people, your defaults – so success gets easier, not harder. If you read one book this year to level up your life, make it this one.
Mel Robbins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Let Them Theory and host of The Mel Robbins Podcast
Illuminating and inspiring … Duckworth’s special skill is helping people find out what they’re truly capable of. Here she reveals the levers that can convert an impossible situation into one ripe with possibility. For anyone who feels stuck, this book offers a path to something new.
Carol Dweck, bestselling author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Angela’s first book, Grit, helped frame for me what success and joy truly require: hard work, determination, and believing in yourself no matter what the obstacles are, every day. This latest book explores an additional truth – one I wholeheartedly agree with – which is that much depends on the environment you create. Angela continues to motivate and inspire me to do my best work, for my family, my readers and myself.
Marie Kondo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Letter from Japan
I’ve always believed grit is essential to great leadership. Angela’s insights in her new book Situated broadened my perspective – accomplishing difficult things isn’t just about inner resolve, but about recognising and harnessing the people, environments, and cultures that help you excel. This book offers a fresh, practical take on what drives real success.
Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorganChase
Situated is an incredibly fun read, with character-driven stories and gobs of eye-opening data. The soul of the book, however, is the liberating notion that our best selves can be achieved through tiny, manageable tweaks to our environment; freeing us from the shame-inducing cycle of failed willpower. I admire Angela deeply for her openness and vulnerability in pursuit of this highly impactful book.
Dax Shepard, actor, comedian, and host of the Armchair Expert podcast
This is how you do it. This is how you fuse the instructive insights of solid behavioral science with the flair of a superb communicator. Situated is brilliant and makes me envious.
Robert Cialdini, New York Times bestselling author of Influence and Pre-Suasion
It might not have seemed possible, but the author of Grit has outdone herself. The scholar who taught us about sticking with hard things now persuasively argues that in addition to passion and perseverance, you need a situation that supports you. This is an intensely personal book that shows how to make doing hard things easier.
David Brooks, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, writer for The Atlantic and bestselling author of How to Know a Person and The Road to Character
A captivating look at what it takes to gain more control over your destiny. Angela Duckworth has delivered a book that’s bursting with surprising science, alluring anecdotes and actionable advice about human agency. It’s the ultimate guide to changing your circumstances
Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and Hidden Potential, and host of the podcast Re:Thinking

Situated hit me as hard as Duckworth's first book, Grit. Maybe being gritty isn’t enough? Maybe being in the right situation is just as important, or more? Whatever you conclude, you’ll agree after
reading this book that it’s a slam dunk. I loved it.

Steve Kerr, four-time NBA champion as coach of the Golden State Warriors
Yet another compelling book from Duckworth that challenges how we think about achievement. Reading these pages will dramatically boost the level of achievement you can imagine for yourself and those you’re trying to help.
Salman Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy and author of Brave New Words
Author Angela Duckworth
Narrator Angela Duckworth
Duration 8 hours and 27 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781529918991
Format Audiobook
Publisher Ebury Publishing
Genre Advice on careers and achieving success, Assertiveness, motivation, self-esteem and positive mental attitude, Management: leadership and motivation, Psychology: the self, ego, identity, personality
Availability AU, GB, IE

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