Utilising the Growth Mindset
What’s your default mindset?
When you get real about what’s going on in your head, it’s easier to make huge leaps in your progress.
Being bulletproof means you have to be brave.
If you don’t know the difference between fixed and growth mindset, read all about it here.
Be sure not to BS this! There is no one to review your score except yourself. The whole point of exploring a growth mindset is to highlight areas where you can learn, grow and achieve more from your training, nutrition, etc.
Mindset quiz instructions
Download the quiz worksheet (Make sure to make your own editable copy).
Read through each question.
Take 60 seconds to write as many examples of the thoughts and behaviours that support each statement, as you can (bullet points are fine).
Take another 60 seconds to write as many examples of the thoughts and behaviours which counter each statement, as you can.
For each question, think about whether you have predominantly a growth or fixed mindset.
Tally your score of growth vs fixed.
Example answers
“I’m willing to try, even if it means making mistakes.”
Support:
I taught myself to squat
I made a high-food volume recipe
I ate oily fish for the first time
Counter:
I’m too scared to deadlift in the main gym area
I don’t check in when I feel like I had a bad week
I stopped training last year because I wasn’t getting anywhere
Breaking the fixed mindset patterns
Finding / creating a program, planning out some nutrition, hiring a coach for some PT sessions, etc. suggest your intentions are to embrace a growth mindset... but it is easy to slip back into bad habits. As you progress, instead of seeing a setback as a failure, you need to check your mindset to make sure you’re not regressing.
A few fixed mindset patterns that might come up on your journey:
“Macros are too hard, I don’t like numbers.”
“I’ll never be strong enough to do that.”
“That much sleep isn’t possible for me.”
The growth mindset alternatives:
“I’ll be able to figure this out over the coming weeks.”
“I’d love to work towards being that strong.”
“I can work on finding some improvements in my sleep routine.”
How to overcome fixed mindset setbacks
The first step with maintaining the right mindset is awareness; you need to know when to pull yourself up when you fall into a fixed mindset.
Now, in most situations, awareness isn’t enough. you’re going to need to unpack why you’re so stuck in a fixed mindset. For this, we use the ‘Fixed, Ask, Answer, Grow’ method.
FIXED - Identify the fixed language you’re using.
ASK - “What am I making this mean?” We often attach a meaning that stops us from employing a growth situation. Typically, this will be connected to a fear or insecurity you have.
ANSWER - Honestly seek out the story you’re telling yourself that’s keeping you fixed.
GROW - Consciously choose to change to a growth mindset, and identify what that looks like.
Here’s an example.
FIXED - “I don’t like macros, they’re too hard to stick to.”
ASK - “What am I making this mean?”
ANSWER - “If I don’t get my macros 100% correct, it means I’m failing.”
GROW - “I can get better at tracking and learning what foods work for me each day and week with practice, and it will provide a skill for life.”
Practice this yourself whenever you find yourself going backwards.
Go deeper with your mindset, to boost your results
By now you should be able to see the benefits of a growth mindset, and the negative impacts of a fixed mindset, in your training and your life.
To continue to expand your understanding of the growth mindset, get your hands on Carol Dweck's book Mindset. We recommend Audible at 1.25x speed.
For more, listen to the following podcast episode.
