3 Keys to A Growth Mindset

Mindset is everything in sport, as in life.   What we think about most often we become.  It is important then to manage your thought life with as much dedication as you manage your training.  Many people defeat themselves even before putting in a full effort because they believe that things like talent, and skill are innate and fixed.  It is important to recognize that talent like everything else can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and solid input from others.  Believing this is the core of having a growth mindset.  Today we will look at three keys to having a growth mindset.

1.      Skill can be learned

Our mindset plays a key role in determining how we view ourselves and the world around us.  It also determines whether or not we can achieve what we have set out to achieve.  Those with a fixed mindset believe individuals are naturally gifted at some things but incapable of learning or doing others.  People with this mindset often let this stop their growth.  Believing they are incapable of learning or developing new skills and abilities. 

 People who have a growth mindset believe that they can achieve anything they are willing to work hard enough to get.  These people generally continue to acquire new skills throughout their life and view setbacks as challenges to overcome not obstacles to achieving what they desire. 

2.     Don’t be afraid to fail

It can be difficult to embrace failure.  This can be especially true when it is done in public, with (gasp) witnesses.    By many failure is viewed as final, the end.  Those with a growth mindset however see failure as a necessary part of progression.  They understand that in order to expand our limits and grow we must push to our limits and fail.  Failure then becomes a necessary by product of achievement.  Rather than avoiding situations in which we might fail it is important to embrace situations where we are near our current limit.  

3.     Your brain is a muscle

Your brain like any muscle in your body can be trained.  If you find you have a fixed mindset in some area of your life do not let this deter you from making a change . All of us are a collection of fixed and growth mindsets.  When we are willing to take control of our thought life we can begin to determine which areas of our lives we believe we can grow in.  It is simply a matter of believing in yourself.  This is not an easy matter, but it is possible to adopt a growth mindset.  If you do you will find that the possibilities for growth, meaning, and fulfillment, are limitless. 

The thing I love best about powerlifting is that it is a physical embodiment of a growth mindset.  In powerlifting there is no overnight success.  You earn every pound you add to your total.  No matter where you start in the sport there is always weight to be added.  Every rep of every workout determines whether or not you progress.  You fail over and over in powerlifting.  It is this willingness to fail and to fail and to fail again which can make you great.  It is so easy to skip a rep or a set or even an entire workout.  Because after all who will know?  (especially true if you train alone).  You’ll know that’s who.   Success in powerlifting as in life begins with an inner commitment to one’s self.  Overwhelmingly those involved in this sport do it for the love of the sport not for any specific tangible remuneration.  Powerlifting is inherently a mental sport.  It is those who embrace the grind, who cultivate a growth mindset who ultimately succeed.

Rob Campbell