The Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

Written on October 27, 2024 - 1:12 pm | by Terra

It’s not often that I let a grown man poke and prod me, but I made an exception this week, and I actually feel pretty good about it. (And he didn’t even have to buy me a drink.)

Now that your mind is thoroughly in the gutter, let me quickly get to the point of me being manhandled.

Earlier this week I underwent a physical assessment and movement screen administered by two of Scotland’s finest trainers, Andy Tsang and Chris Davidson.

A 21-Point Inspection For Your Body

For those of you who aren’t familiar with such glorious torture, a physical assessment is going through a series of movements and tests both on a massage table, where a trainer will actually manipulate your body and apply pressure to trigger points, and in the gym, where they’ll watch you go through different exercises and make recommendations based on your form.

It’s an incredibly helpful (and sometimes painful and ego-shattering) way to identify current muscle imbalances and weakness while giving you an idea of what you need to work on in the gym to a) not get hurt and b) build more muscle and become more athletic.

Prior to my visit to University Gym, I’d never received one. Which is sad when you realize that my Audi has received better treatment than my body.

Getting Out of My Comfort Zone

As an author of a workout book and a guy who writes for fitness and lifestyle magazines, you’d think I’d have had an assessment a long time ago.

Truth is, I usually have an internal struggle when it comes to accepting help from other people, especially when it’s fitness related. It’s less of a cocky “I know what I’m doing” attitude and more of “I’m afraid of looking like a complete idiot” mindset, which, admittedly, is a bit ridiculous.

But I’ve noticed this behavior in other people, too. In fact, I think most of us avoid situations where there’s a good chance we’ll look stupid or incompetent, whether it’s salsa dancing, learning another language, or something as inconsequential as using the wrong fork at a fancy restaurant.

In their book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, authors Chip and Dan Heath categorize this sort of behavior as having a “fixed mindset.”

“If you are someone with a fixed mindset you tend to avoid challenges, because if you fail, you fear others will see your failure as an indication of your true ability and see you as a loser.“

But not everyone is fixed.

“In contrast, those with a ‘growth mindset’ believe that abilities are like muscles—that can be built up with practice. That is, with concerted effort, you can make yourself better…With a growth mindset you tend to accept more challenges despite the risk of failure.”

Which One Are You?

Personally, I feel like I’m half-fixed, half-growth, but I’m trying to become a full-growth convert. Why? Well, any time I’ve ever stepped out of my comfort zone it’s always been a positive experience in the end, even if the beginning was awkward and frustrating. (The middle, interestingly, is where I’ve been so involved in the process that I really had no emotion either way.)

It’s a bit nerve wrecking to sprint in front of NFL-Combine extraordinaire Joe DeFranco, write articles that tens of thousands of people will read, or lie on a bench and get berated about your shitty mobility from a dude with a Scottish accent. (See the video below.)

But I’ve grown because of all of them.

I bet you’ve had an experience where something that initially seemed difficult, “not your style”, or just plain scary actually became fun and rewarding.

Perhaps it was learning a new exercise in the gym, signing up for a hard college course, or even something as big as deciding what you want to do “when you grow up.” With a growth mindset, there’s opportunity for big change, fantastic experiences, and even a whole new life.

The fixed mindset, in contrast, has me thinking of castration. Do you really want to live a neutered life?

The potentially positive situations that make us uneasy are the kinds of experiences we should go after. They push us to grow.

They teach us new skills and new ways of understanding ourselves.

And that’s the first step to becoming your own hero.

Soft Tissue for Tough Guys (Video)

Watch Andy make me cry and check out the end of the video for me goofing off in their Varsity Gym.

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