New Year, New.....Mindset

I have never stuck to a New Years resolution. I would say with a high level of confidence that the majority of my shortcomings are from realizing that :

1) This isn't going to be as easy as I thought

2) I can justify why it is not actually that important to me

(The possibility of me scoring a winning goal or the amount of time I spend with a shirt off just doesn't justify the effort it would require).

So instead of setting multiple goals (knowing in the back of mind I will half-heartedly pursue them), I decided to set one goal of trying to understand, in more depth, the reason for my failings in the past.

However, It is currently February 16th and I am typing this shirtless while tensing my rock solid abs. With a one time payment of $100 dollars you too can achieve things you never thought were possible, and attain your goals with my one little secret!

Of course I am joking (about the abs), but not about my one goal for the year. Now I think it would be silly to say I have already found the answer, but I may have found one piece of the puzzle that I am excited to test and determine if it can change my behaviours. This year isn't going to be about a "new me" but it will definitely start off with a new mindset.

I first came across mindsets in one my classes last semester which focused on motivation, and with most things that I find interesting on my course, I was able to relate to it straight away.

What Are Mindsets

Research into mindsets began with work by Carol Dweck who identified that children hold implicit beliefs about the fixedness or malleability of their personal attributes [1]. A child with a growth mindset believes that the attributes they possess are malleable and can change over time, whereas a child with a fixed mindset believes that their abilities will not change and are stable across time [2]. Mindsets are not fixed for every situation; it is possible for a child to hold a growth mindset when thinking about sporting ability, but also possess a fixed mindset regarding their intelligence [3]. Furthermore, mindsets determine how children perceive and react to events that focus on achievement [4].

How Mindsets Affect Behaviour

Determining the type of mindset a child possesses is vital to understanding the types of goals they set themselves when engaging in an achievement focused activity. Depending on their performance, this can affect their stress levels and self-esteem [1]. Those with a growth mindset will strive to achieve learning goals, and are focused on improving and mastering the behaviour or skill. In contrast to the growth mindset, a child with a fixed mindset will strive towards performance goals. These types of goals are characterized by comparing their achievement to that of others and if they perceive that they have not done well, can leave them feeling helpless and unlikely to retry that behaviour [5].

If a child possesses a strong, fixed mindset towards their sporting ability, they may place the majority of their goals in a performance context. Those with performance goals often have little self-esteem and if they compare themselves to others and don’t feel adequate it may cause them to become less motivated and give up. This could lead to lower self-esteem and feelings of shame or embarrassment [2]. In contrast those with a growth mindset will continue when tasks get difficult and are aware that if they do seem capable of something, they will stop only to assess what they need to improve on and not see themselves as a failure [2].

The role of Parents with Mindsets

The role of parents in instilling a growth mindset within children can stem from the kind of praise they deliver to their child. A parent can offer two types of praise to their children; firstly, person feedback can be a form of praise and relates to commenting on the child’s traits or ability in regard to their performance [1]. The second type of praise is that of process feedback. This form of praise focuses on the effort or strategy used by the child [1]. The use of person feedback leads the child to believe the level of accomplishment is due to their fixed traits as statements such “You are so smart that you figured it out” leads them to believe this. In contrast, children who receive feedback such as, “your hard work paid off” are more likely to attribute their success to the effort they put in.

My Personal Mindsets

When hearing about mindsets for the first I was quick to identify within myself that I always held a growth mindset towards sports but a fixed mindset to academics and musical ability. From as young as I can remember I loved doing anything that was a game or involved physical activity. I also loved to win but that wasn't my motivation for doing these types of things. Looking back I can confidently say I had a growth mindset and learning goals when it came to sport.

However in other aspects of my life such as academics, I remember thinking from a young age that math just wasn't my thing and I really struggled with it. I clearly remember freezing in exams, dreading my marks and a lack of enjoyment in the subject. Fortunately, my parents recognised this and sought out a math tutor who I would go to once a week. Without really realizing, my mindset towards maths changed and I saw a clear connection between the amount of work I was putting in and the results I was getting. This is something that is more clear to me now than it was at the time.

One aspect of my life where my mindset has not changed is my musical ability. I struggled to hit the triangle at the correct time in my school nativity and have more chance seeing Oasis re-group and hearing wonderwall live then I do playing it myself. Nevertheless, after reflecting on what I have learned about mindsets I have realized that my potential musical ability is no different from my sporting or academic ability; I have put work into both of those resulting in some level of achievement and believe that if I approached learning an instrument with the intention to learn it for the sake of learning something new, unfazed by others abilities or being able to play one specific song then I may be able to create a sustainable behaviour with long term healthy goals that hopefully should result in me not only enjoying the process but learning a new skill.

Regarding my new years resolution I am approaching this year with a new mindset, hoping my new perspective on the subject will allow me to achieve more in a variety of fields with just a little hard work and effort.

Take Home Messages

• Mindsets can affect what behaviours you engage in and sustain

• You can have different mindsets for different aspects of your life

• Mindsets are malleable

• Changing your mindset may be key to changing a behaviour

References

[1] Elliot, Andrew J., Carol S. Dweck, and David S. Yeager, eds. Handbook of competence and motivation: Theory and application. Guilford Publications, 2017.

[2] Warburton, V. E., & Spray, C. M. (2017). Implicit theories of ability in physical education: Current issues and future directions. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 36(3), 252-261.

[3] Carol S. Dweck , Chi-yue Chiu & Ying-yi Hong (1995) Implicit Theories: Elaboration and Extension of the Model, Psychological Inquiry, 6:4, 322-333, DOI: 10.1207/ s15327965pli0604_12

[4] Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological review, 95(2), 256.

[5] Spray, C. M., Wang, C. J., Biddle, S. J., Chatzisarantis, N. L., & Warburton, V. E. (2006). An experimental test of self-theories of ability in youth sport. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 7(3), 255-267.