Here’s a guy who knows a thing or two about accomplishments. Photo: WSL
Surfers spend many hours of practice, focus, motivation, and resilience to learn how to ride waves. All this before mastering and improving their technique and style. Just like many other athletes, professional surfers use the same methodology to produce excellent results. In fact, the skills, tools, and resources they use are also available to you. The trick is it all comes down to your mindset.
We surely all can appreciate a surfer with a positive mindset and learn from it. In many ways, our mindset plays a huge role in what we can and can’t accomplish. Whether if it is about becoming the best at what we do or just enjoying what we like, the way we think makes a difference. So, what are the different mindsets that one can have and how can we improve the way we approach things in life?
FIXED MINDSET VS GROWTH MINDSET
There are two different kinds of mindsets: Fixed and growth.
Often, clients come to me describing their goals or obstacles, where they may be stuck in pursuing them, and not knowing what’s keeping them from reaching the next level. I work to uncover their mental blockages and their patterns and it’s often clear that a shift in mindset is necessary. The problem is, many people believe their mindset can’t change.
When you have a fixed mindset, you tend to believe your personality, your intellect, and your creative characteristics can’t change. All this will end up preventing you from reaching optimal performance levels.
Some of you might be skeptical about new practices for becoming a better surfer, or even just the idea of improving your surfing and lifestyle might seem unrealistic. Why? This is often because you have a fixed mindset.
Your mindset outlines the way you look at yourself and your abilities. If you doubt yourself, you’ve already lost half the battle. A fixed mindset can lead you to failure before you even start, and you might find yourself giving up early at the smallest sign of frustration.
A growth mindset, on the other hand, will help you consistently improve even when facing setbacks and difficulties. Having a growth mindset enables you to see the possibility of improving beyond what you think is your limit.
With a growth mindset, we are more liberated. Challenges are welcomed, our outlook is almost always positive, and failure is a gateway to grow emotionally and professionally.
This mindset is really about learning rather than seeking approval from others. It is about leading with positivity to foster your creativity and feed your relationships. This mindset is excellent because it is a blank canvas for you to develop and reach optimal performance levels. This means you can take your most important interests and ideas and improve them through you making that effort. Everyone can change, learn, and grow.
HOW TO DEVELOP A GROWTH MINDSET
Focus on what you can learn and improve:
It is pointless to dwell on what’s not working for you. Instead, you could focus on your future and being better at what you do. You can accomplish this by investing in yourself and your daily practices.
Get rid of what slows you down:
Why choose people who only stroke your ego and don’t push you to grow? Why insist on keeping those old habits of constant scrolling on social media? These are just two examples of old habits that slow us down. You need to be able to let go of those old ways to change your outcomes.
Get out of your comfort zone:
Accept new ideas, try different approaches, and always be curious.
The fixed and growth mindsets which we adopt at a very early age have a lot to do with how our behavior as adults, how we deal with our relationships, and how we tackle obstacles in all aspects of our lives. Becoming a better surfer, a better partner, a better colleague, and a better human really comes down to the power of changing your mindset. Changing even the simplest of them can have a profound impact on your happiness and your pathway to success.
IN SUMMARY:
-There are two types of mindsets: growth and fixed.
-You need to develop a growth mindset to get better at anything.
-Focus on what you can improve.
-Let go of what slows you down.
-Get out of your comfort zone.
So which mindset are you?Take the Surfer’s Mindset Quiz
