A fixed mindset doesn’t want to leave its comfort zone, try new things or accept challenges. A growth mindset thrives on these things. Photo / 123rf
A fixed mindset doesn’t want to leave its comfort zone, try new things or accept challenges. A growth mindset thrives on these things. Photo / 123rf
Opinion
Ongoing studies and research reveal that success in any field begins in the mind. In other words, mindset matters; the right mentality is imperative to seeking success whether the field is sports/fitness related or not.
“Growth Mindset” is a term coined by Dr Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychologyat Stanford University, in her 2007 book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, an inquiry into “the power of our beliefs, both conscious and unconscious and how changing even the simplest of them can have a profound impact on nearly every aspect of our lives”.
Dweck defines the differences between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset “the two basic mindsets empowered to shape our lives.”
As you might suspect, one contributes positively towards our success while the other stunts it. Understanding the difference between the two helps us to achieve goals and improve our lives.
According to Dweck, many of the most basic beliefs we embrace about ourselves are directly related to how we view and inhabit what we consider to be our personality.
A fixed mindset automatically assumes that character, intelligence, skills, aptitude and creative talents are predetermined and static; they cannot be changed, built upon or redirected in any meaningful way.
This carved-in-stone detrimental mentality creates an urgency to prove oneself over and over. It is a course of thought that is dangerous to adopt because it leaves the negative self-impression that we cannot improve ourselves through perseverance and application. A limited mindset has no vision. It immediately thinks “why try? There is no point, because everything, including my talent is static and predetermined.”
Entertaining this mindset sabotages, steals and kills all motivating factors seeking to boost us in the opposite direction.
This stagnant, self-esteem-killer type of mindset doesn’t suddenly occur overnight either. It begins manifesting and colouring our decisions about future successes, both personal and professional very early on in our lives.
“I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan Photo / AP
Our mindset is not a fixed variable, it shifts and changes. There may be times we initially embrace a growth mindset (for example, getting ourselves to the gym) but give in to difficulties that cause us to fall back to a fixed mindset. After all, a fixed mindset offers reassurance that we are safe and within our boundaries. It is our comfort zone, what we are used to.
The good news is nothing is actually “written in stone”. With the right attitude and action steps, we can develop a growth mindset, one that believes and knows that our qualities and talents can be developed, shaped and improved upon. Neuroplasticity, the brain cell’s ability to change or modify and adapt is real. No matter the goal, whether fitness related or some other personal challenge, we can change and shift to a growth mindset using mental exercises.
For example, success in fitness doesn’t mean we must pump tons of iron daily. It means we do the best we can while continuing to improve as we work towards our fitness goal. It means celebrating small successes along the way, patting ourselves on the back, celebrating the smallest of accomplishments and feeling a sense of pride about what we achieve while on the journey towards our goal.
It means seeing defeat in a different light. No longer is it perceived as a setback but as a tough moment, one offering us the “silver lining” of growth, if we stick with it and don’t give up.
While a fixed mindset might be intimidated by other people’s success (in the gym or otherwise), a growth mindset is inspired and boosted by other people’s success, not deflated by it.
A fixed mindset doesn’t want to leave its comfort zone, try new things or accept challenges. A growth mindset thrives on these things. It is not obsessed with other people’s opinions, nor does it focus on the results. A fixed mindset seeks outside approval and focuses too early on the results, forgetting about the current moment-to-moment achievements.
There is only one mindset empowered to maintain long-term fitness motivation: a growth mindset. Without motivation, accomplishing any goal, fitness or otherwise is a non-ending, upward struggle, one that eventually wears us down to the point of quitting.
However, a healthy growth mindset isn’t a given, nor does it happen on its own. If we want to enjoy the massive benefits it offers, it must be continually nurtured and embraced because it’s about more than just cultivating a positive attitude. Work/action, meaning or purpose and inner drive all play major roles.
The truth is our beliefs shape us. We are either growing and learning or petrified and frozen in time by distorted perceptions and self-destructive, limiting beliefs.
Consider the wise words of this champion athlete:
“I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
– Michael Jordan
Losers buy into failure. They use it as an excuse. Winners never see defeat. They use minor setbacks as stepping stones or building blocks - each one bringing them a measure closer to their goal. There is simply no place for victimhood with these high achievers.
