What kind of mindset do you need to be successful?
Well, that’s exactly what the book Mindset, by Stanford University Professor Dr. Carol Dweck, is all about.
It’s based on decades of research on achievement and success.
Turns out, it’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us success – but whether we approach our goals with a ⛔fixed or 🪴growth mindset.
Below, we’re going to dive into each of the key elements of what it takes to have a growth mindset.
This will be quite a long blog post, so feel free to skim and jump around, focusing on the areas that are most interesting or relevant to you.
Fixed VS Growth Mindset
A ⛔FIXED mindset is the belief that intelligence and abilities are predetermined at birth and cannot be changed. Those with a fixed mindset tend to avoid challenges and give up easily in the face of obstacles or setbacks.
A classic example of having a fixed mindset when it comes to health and fitness is thinking that you’ll never be able to lose weight or that you don’t have enough time to exercise. Losing weight and finding the time to exercise can indeed be difficult, but millions of people have managed it before, sometimes in even more challenging circumstances than you could possibly imagine.
In contrast, a 🪴GROWTH mindset is the belief that intelligence and abilities can be developed through hard work, dedication, and perseverance.
When it comes to health and fitness, having a growth mindset is incredibly important. People with a growth mindset tend to embrace challenges and setbacks, seeing them as opportunities for growth and learning. This leads to persistence, skill development, habit formation, and ultimately success.
Building a growth mindset requires effort and practice, just like building a muscle. It’s not something that happens overnight, but rather a gradual process that requires commitment and consistent effort over time.
1) Challenges
🪴Growth Mindset: See challenges as an opportunity to grow and learn.
- You are open to trying new types of exercises or learning how to cook healthier meals.
- You are comfortable with challenging goals and know that setbacks are opportunities to learn.
- You seek out advice or help from experts and friends so that you can persevere.
⛔Fixed Mindset: See challenges as problems to be avoided.
- You avoid difficult or uncomfortable exercises and stick to the same boring recipes.
- You tend to set very unchallenging goals and give up easily when you don’t see quick results.
- You see setbacks as proof of your own limitations rather than an opportunity for growth.
2) Talent
🪴Growth Mindset: See talent as a skill that can be developed with effort and time.
- You know that things like athleticism or cooking are skills that can be improved with practice.
- You believe that you can learn to get better at anything.
- You dedicate time thoughtfully and intentionally practicing the “talents” you’d like to improve.
⛔Fixed Mindset: See talent as a fixed ability that you’re either good at or not.
- You believe that you’re either an athletic person or you’re not, or a good cook or you’re not.
- You believe that your abilities and potential are fixed and cannot be improved.
- You don’t spend much time thoughtfully and intentionally practicing because it’s pointless.
3) Effort
🪴Growth Mindset: Believe that effort and hard work lead to success and improvement.
- You work hard in the gym because every session is an opportunity to improve.
- You are willing to invest time and effort because you know it will be rewarded.
- You frequently push yourself out of your comfort zone in order to achieve your goals.
⛔Fixed Mindset: See effort as a sign of weakness and a waste of time.
- You just go through the motions at the gym because you’d rather be doing something else instead.
- You don’t see much point in investing time and effort because you don’t have the “fitness gene”.
- You get discouraged easily if you don’t see quick results or progress toward your goal.
4) Persistence
🪴Growth Mindset: Remain determined and resilient in the face of obstacles.
- You persist through difficult workouts or social situations that make eating healthily challenging.
- You try new approaches and strategies, seek out advice, and learn from your mistakes.
- You relentlessly continue to chase your goals and refuse to give up because success is inevitable.
⛔Fixed Mindset: Give up easily when faced with challenges or setbacks.
- You always opt for easier exercises or frequently have to “get back on track on Monday”.
- You are unwilling to try new strategies, don’t like being given advice, and see failure as final.
- You struggle to persevere or stay motivated when times get tough.
5) Feedback
🪴Growth Mindset: Welcome feedback and see it as a valuable tool for growth and improvement.
- You actively seek out feedback from trainers, workout partners, coaches, or other successful people.
- You are receptive to both positive and negative feedback because both are uniquely useful.
- You recognise that there is always more to learn and everyone has something to teach you.
⛔Fixed Mindset: Avoid feedback and see it as a personal attack or criticism.
- You avoid seeking out feedback because you think it will make you look weak or incompetent.
- You crave praise from others and fear or hate any kind of criticism.
- You view feedback as a threat to your self-esteem or identity.
6) Failure
🪴Growth Mindset: See failure as a learning opportunity and embrace it as a necessary part of growth.
- You view a lack of progress in your fitness journey as a challenge to try new methods or improve your consistency.
- You see falling off track with healthy eating as an opportunity to learn more about your triggers and look for ways to prevent them from happening again.
- You see a fitness setback, such as an injury, as a chance to learn more about proper form, injury prevention, and recovery techniques.
⛔Fixed Mindset: See failure as proof of inadequacy and a sign that you should give up.
- You view a lack of progress in your fitness journey as a personal failure and become demotivated to continue.
- You view one slip-up in healthy eating as a complete failure and use it as an excuse to abandon a healthy diet.
- You see a fitness setback, such as an injury, as a permanent barrier to achieving your fitness goals.
7) Success of Others
🪴Growth Mindset: Feel inspired by the success of others and see it as a source of motivation.
- You see someone else’s successful journey with healthy living as an opportunity to learn from their habits and incorporate them into your own routine.
- You compare your progress to that of someone who has achieved a similar goal, using their success as motivation to hold yourself accountable.
- You celebrate others’ achievements and use their success to fuel your own inspiration and action.
⛔Fixed Mindset: Feel threatened by and jealous of the success of others.
- You think that someone else succeeding in their fitness journey takes away from what you can achieve.
- You feel threatened by someone else’s progress and let it discourage you from your own goals.
- You are resentful towards someone else’s success and use it as an excuse to give up on your own journey.
CONCLUSION: Lean In For Growth!
There’s a very good chance that you saw some of yourself in BOTH the Growth Mindset AND the Fixed Mindset examples above.
That’s OK, none of us are perfect. However, those who are self-aware enough to recognise their flaws have the opportunity for growth. Those who don’t believe they can (or need to) improve, will stagnate.
In today’s modern world, building healthy habits and living a healthy lifestyle can be challenging.
Sometimes it can feel like the entire world is working against you at every opportunity to make it more and more difficult to stay healthy, fit, and in shape.
Having a growth mindset gives you the resilience to persevere. A growth mindset uses challenges to develop strengths and smarts.
LEAN IN to the challenges that you face with the belief that intelligence and abilities can be developed through hard work, dedication, and perseverance.
It doesn’t get easier, you get stronger.
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