[00:00:00] Hello, my friends, and welcome back to Not Another Mindset Show. Today, we are talking myth busting. Myths and misconceptions. Mindset is everywhere. It’s everywhere. And I love it. I really do. I mean, literally, what would my life look like if people didn’t start grasping on to this idea that mindset matters?

And for the longest time it felt like I was, you know, I was in the lab learning about this stuff and then going into my coaching practices like why is this not talked about more? And if anything it’s talked about more from like a just believe in yourself type of capacity which is why we are doing this episode today because there are a lot of misconceptions about mindset when we’re talking about mindset from a true evidence [00:01:00] based, science backed, researched perspective.

And, you know. If you’re not here for the science and you really just care about the woo woo, believe in yourself type of stuff, then, then we can’t be friends. I’m sorry, it’s not gonna work out. And I do, I do want you to understand that I, I love the woo woo, I do, I love the manifestation space and I love it especially when those things intertwine with what I know about growth mindset and about the, the research behind it.

behavior change in mindset and psychology. So that said, clearing some things up that I see out there in social media land, your favorite Fitspo social media influencer, when they’re talking about mindset to, to like no real harm. Right. And I don’t want this to come off as [00:02:00] like, guys, listen, I have this, I had this ad running recently and.

It was an old, it was a repurposed reel, and the reel did well, because you know, it’s like mostly going to my audience and people who know who I am. But when we created the ad, you have to remember those people don’t necessarily like know me yet. And the reel was essentially just talking about like, here’s another, you know, fitness coach who says that they’re a mindset coach but have zero formal education or training in the matter.

Um, and the entire post is essentially like, I spent nearly five years researching this stuff, but I’m telling you, you don’t need a PhD. And there are solutions to your self sabotaging clients. And I want to teach you and I want to make the industry a better place. But it always comes off as like, Okay, so you’re, like, better than everybody else because you have a PhD.

Or, what did someone say? They’re like, Yeah, because as if your piece of paper actually makes you a better coach. And I’m like, oh my god, you’re so [00:03:00] missing the point, Stephen. Ah, um, anyway. So I don’t, I feel the need to say, like, my goal here is not to, like, bash the people who are saying these things, but instead to educate the en entirety of the coaching industry in what is actually accurate so that we can better help clients and see more success as coaches, right?

Okay, on that note, the first thing, first misconception that I see very often is that growth mindset is this. broad, overarching thing that you either have a growth mindset or you have a fixed mindset. And that essentially goes for every single thing in your life. Like you are a growth mindset person or you’re a fixed mindset person.

We like to put people into categories and we like to just like put everything in a neat little box. Like you either have a growth mindset or you have a fixed mindset, but the truth is you can actually have a growth mindset in one area and [00:04:00] be very much fixed mindset oriented in another area. For example, maybe you have a growth mindset about your career and you are very confident in your abilities to continue to improve in your role, climb the ladder, get promotions.

Like you can see the direction that you’re going and you’re so confident that you will get there. You’re just not there yet. Right? Growth mindset through and but on the same hand, you may also. I have a very different perspective when it comes to your health and fitness goals. And just because you have a growth mindset in your career does not mean that you actually believe in your abilities to lose weight, keep it off, and have a healthy lifestyle for good.

In fact, you may have, uh, a lot of beliefs To the contrary, it may actually believe that having a sustainable, healthy, fit lifestyle is not something that’s in the cards for you. So, that is [00:05:00] entirely possible. So when we’re talking about like, just have a growth mindset overall, like, that doesn’t actually truly, really exist.

Like, there’s so much more nuance to that conversation. That said, it, it would make sense, right, you start to cultivate a growth mindset in your career, in your relationships, that eventually, the growth mindset in all those other areas will actually help you cultivate a growth mindset in health and fitness in this area that you’re still lacking.

Like, that’s, that’s absolutely possible. In fact, um, I came across some research from Michigan State. And what they were looking at is essentially does, is there some carryover from one domain to the other when it comes to mindset? And the consensus essentially was that there is an overall association so that if you think one trait can be developed, like, I, I do think that I can, I can become a more like fit and healthy [00:06:00] individual, that you are more likely to think that other traits are.

Changeable, improvable as well. So, because I think that I am able to improve my skills at work, I also am more likely to then believe that I can improve my skills when it comes to fitness, right? So, It’s kind of like this overall belief that you have a mindset in general about how human qualities can change.

So it’s kind of like, um, yeah, sort of like an umbrella mindset in this case of like, do you actually believe that in general human qualities can change? Yes or no. And I know I’ve talked about this in other episodes, but. When I say that, do you, are you thinking of it from the perspective of like, do, can humans change their qualities?

Or are you thinking about, can I change my qualities? Because there’s [00:07:00] often a difference in how you are thinking about this. So, if you’re like, oh yeah, I think people can change their qualities, like, I’m pretty confident in that, and then if I’m like, well, do you feel like you can change yours, you may be like, do you have another question for me?

So, there may be a difference there when you’re actually thinking about yourself versus what you’re thinking about, like, the collective, all of us. Um, that said, mindsets are still domain specific, so it doesn’t mean everything. automatically that you have a growth mindset in one area and you will in another area.

Um, and something else that was really interesting from this researcher is that if someone is like more defensive about something and they kind of like really want to dig their heels in, But yet you know that they want to change and you want to help them change. So like coaches, please listen to this.

If you have a client who’s like, no, I know that this is always so hard for me, or I, I under, I really don’t think tracking macros is going to work because I’ve tried other calorie deficits and nothing’s ever worked for me. And you’re like, no, I know you want this so [00:08:00] bad. And I want you to understand somehow that there is a fixed mindset underlying here.

Being more vague. can actually be helpful in this case. So rather than trying to guide them towards this belief that macro tracking is what’s going to help them change, instead helping them have this more vague belief that they can change in general. And kind of maybe asking some questions around that, like in what other areas of your life or what other times have you seen yourself change?

Whether it’s a personality characteristic, some sort of skill, or Trait anything and just try to help them get to this place of like, yeah, I have the capabilities of changing so it’s like, okay, well then why not in this area also, you know, um, so I thought that that was interesting and definitely really helpful and would encourage you to think about areas where you do have a growth mindset and what allows you to have that.

And is there a [00:09:00] world where you can allow that to carry over into other areas and create sort of this domino effect that we know is possible because you are more likely to see that? And it’s sort of just like, where can you start collecting a growth mindset in all of these different areas of your life?

And the more that you collect, the more likely you are to spill over into even more areas, right? So kind of become, you can gamify the situation that way. So thinking about areas where you don’t really have as much of a strong growth mindset where, where can you really start to develop that based on the areas that you do, which actually brings me to my next misconception, which is that.

It’s like this belief that you’re like all growth mindset or you’re all fixed mindset, that there’s no in between. Um, and just like with everything, just like with everything, there is, there’s always an in between, there’s always a gray area. It’s, it’s on a continuum. It’s not necessarily that someone is, Growth mindset or fixed mindset, they are just leaning [00:10:00] towards one or the other.

So you’ll hear me speak about mindset in this way, and people who are not super well versed in mindset research won’t. And you’ll hear me say like, oh, you lean towards more of a growth mindset, and you have more of a growth mindset, rather than like you Have a growth mindset or you have a fixed mindset, or I’ll say things like there’s, there’s qualities or indicators of a fixed mindset, because even when we do research in this area, we’re using a scale.

So it’ll be a scale of like one to six. When people are going through an assessment and they’re reading statements and saying how much they agree or disagree on something, it’s usually on a scale of one to six or so, rather than just like, this one or that one. So then what we end up having is essentially a score.

So let’s say if it’s on a scale of one to six and six is 100 percent growth mindset and one is 100 percent fixed mindset, someone may end up with like a 5. 3, meaning that they are like much closer to a growth mindset than they are a fixed mindset. [00:11:00] But it’s like, it’s not really a thing to see someone be a six or a one.

You get what I’m saying? So, um, just keep that in mind. And I, and I say this one too, and I really wanted to. Bring this one into the conversation because it is a, is a beautiful showcase of the fact that we do lie on this continuum and it doesn’t have to be necessarily one way or the other. And you can move across that continuum, right?

You can make your way towards more of a growth mindset. It’s not just huge, like massive jump from one to six, you know, you can make your way from a, a two to a four to a 5. 3, right? Um, so it, it, and it is possible to do that. It really, really is. The next misconception I have, number three, my numbers are wrong here.

So like two is technically three on my notes. Having a fixed mindset is a death wish for your success. Okay. That’s, that’s dramatic. I’m not really sure I’ve ever had someone say that’s a death wish, but, um, you know, honestly, like I do kind of fault [00:12:00] myself a little bit for this one. Um, because I being knowing what I know about having a growth mindset, it can be really easy for me just to automatically go like, I can see where these things are going wrong and I can see where your fixed mindset is literally the exact reason why you have not seen success in this thing that you’re working towards yet.

It’s so easy for me to see, and then it’s so easy for me to then like point out, um, and in doing so, Then I feel like I’m kind of like at fault for saying that, oh, fixed mindset is the, the end all be all, it’s the thing that is like leading you to your demise and you’re never going to be successful when you’re like this.

And that is, yeah, like I said, just, it’s dramatic, it’s excessive and although I’m not like saying it in that way, like I do worry that I would feed into that belief system. So something that I will continue to work on. Um, but with that side. Understand that there are people that will rise to the top [00:13:00] even with a fixed mindset, you know, things still happen, but I would, I would argue that it’s going to be really hard for them to stay there if they’re in this fixed mindset capacity.

Like, for instance, someone in their business, if they have a growth mindset about, excuse me, if they have a fixed mindset about their ability to scale their business and they, They have a great offer, you know, they have access to a really awesome audience, they have friends that are perfect, a perfect referral network, and they’re still able to scale their business, uh, mainly because of maybe these other factors, then, and they’re still thinking in the back of their head, like, I, I’m not capable of this, it’s, it’s not gonna happen for me, like, I’m, I’m getting lucky, you know, if that’s, if that’s the perspective that they hold, they could still see success given the hands that they were dealt, right?

But the likelihood of actually maintaining the success is probably lower and the [00:14:00] chances of self sabotage probably higher, right? Because you’re continuing to just operate from this place of, I actually don’t think I could be successful. And my level of success currently doesn’t actually guarantee success in the future.

So, no, it’s not a death wish. But if you can become more aware of where your fixed mindset is showing up, like, that’s really the key here, that’s the secret sauce, my friends. Becoming aware of your fixed mindset allows you to actually have the chance to change it. So, If you’re listening to this and thinking, man, yeah, I’m really, I might be holding myself back here and I’m, I’m realizing maybe where my clients are self sabotaging because they have a fixed mindset.

Whatever is coming up for you, just please know it can change. And the key to that change is becoming more aware so you can actually make those changes. So don’t be scared of it. Don’t shy away from [00:15:00] trying to figure out where your fixed mindset might be. Hiding, because once you can uncover it, then you can embrace it and you can really work to actually change it.

All right, the next, the fourth common misconception is that having an open mind or just like thinking, In a, in a more open mindedness type of way. I don’t, I’m trying to think of like other, other ways that people may be talking about open mindedness. Um, that’s often seen as synonymous for having a growth mindset.

The truth is you can have a growth mindset. And be open minded, but they’re not the same exact thing. We’re not talking about the exact same concepts. Having a growth mindset is really more about believing in your ability to change and being willing to try different strategies and continue to work towards something in the face of obstacles and challenges.

And [00:16:00] ultimately always coming back to that belief that you actually can make that change. So when things get hard, it’s like, No big deal, maybe not no big deal, but it’s almost like a welcome challenge and an understanding that like, no matter what, I’m still gonna get there anyway, so like, throw whatever you want at me and watch me still continue on towards my goal.

So, having an open mind. Yeah, I guess that could potentially be part of a growth mindset, but it’s definitely not the same thing. And I see them talked about almost interchangeably all of the time. Like, oh yeah, I have a growth mindset and my, I, I’m open-minded, or she’s, she’s super, super open-minded.

You’ll, you’ll notice her growth mindset. Like, just like kind of comments of like, this is that, and this is this. When, that’s not the cha that’s not the case. It’s just, it’s. There’s so much more to a growth mindset than having an open mind. Okay, number four. Ah, this is a big one. It’s all about putting in effort and just [00:17:00] trying harder.

This one is like, potentially, dangerous isn’t an intense word, but it’s not harmless, really. Um, The process of cultivating a growth mindset includes far more than just putting effort in and just trying harder. So if you are telling a client you just need to try harder, or some variation of that phrase, or you’re of the belief that this client just isn’t trying hard enough, and that’s all that they need to do, that is a slippery slope.

A slippery slope to a fixed mindset rather than actually cultivating a growth mindset. Because if it were If it were so easy as to just try harder, then wouldn’t everyone just be successful? If all you had to do was try harder to have a growth mindset and see all of the success that you are [00:18:00] hoping for, I feel like we would have a lot more growth mindset oriented people and a lot more successful people.

And the reality is why, why this can be so detrimental, especially from like a coaching capacity. is if you’re going to a client with that perspective and you’re thinking to yourself, this person just needs to try harder, or you’re just sharing with them, like, we have the perfect protocol in place and these are the things that you say are going to work best for you.

You really just need to put the effort in and you’re going to get there. Like, no problem. As long as you put the effort in, you’re done. You’re good. You’re set. And then what happens when that person feels like they’re trying hard? They feel like they’re putting effort forth. And you’re, they just heard from you that they have the perfect setup, the perfect protocols, and yet it’s still not working?

Then they’re going to assume it’s a them thing. This is all on me as the client. I couldn’t try hard enough, so I’m not [00:19:00] capable of doing this because it is just as easy as trying harder, and I still can’t do it. Which, that’s really not the case. And a big part of this too is like your, your beliefs about effort.

If you believe that effort is the end goal, sort of, in a way, or the, the, the biggest means to the end of success, that all you need to do is just try harder and put in effort, then, yeah, what happens when you actually feel like that’s what you’re doing and then it, it doesn’t end up the way that you want it to?

Um, and, Your belief around that is important. It’s like your, your mind, what is your mindset about effort, really, is what, what I’m referring to here. I’m trying to get to with way too many words, so I apologize for all of that, that word salad that just happened. Um, so, Trying to not only pay attention to what your [00:20:00] client’s mindset looks like when it comes to health, health and fitness behaviors and their goals and whatever, but also what is their mindset around effort?

Do they think that like that’s all that is required and if they don’t have that, then they’re, they’re essentially screwed because that’s a fixed mindset about them. And paying attention to those effort beliefs is also really important. And your beliefs around effort as a coach is like, that’s, that’s so important because if you’re sitting there thinking, man, all this person needs to do is just try harder.

If only they could just try harder, they would see so much success. That’s a problem, because that will then carry over into how you’re coaching that person, and it is so much more than that. So much more than that. Okay, I realized I think I said that the last one was number 4, but it’s actually in fact number 5, because my numbers are wrong.

I have two number ones on my list. So [00:21:00] I was like, okay, what’s the next one? That was the last one. So we’re going to wrap it up there. I hope me walking through these misconceptions was helpful. The last thing I want this to do is just make things more confusing for you and make you worried about when you talk about mindset that you’re not talking about it correctly.

Just know that there really is, there’s not too much harm in. Probably any, any way that you’re talking about mindset currently, especially if you’re a coach who’s like, man, I haven’t had like actual training and mindset yet. You have not done the health mindset coaching certification yet. If you would like to join us.

Please do. Our next cohort will be in the spring. When does this episode come out? Yeah, it should be in the spring because I think this comes out in September. Which we would have just started our fall cohort. But anyway, it is here nor there. Just know that there is a science to mindset. There is a more accurate way of talking about behavior change and psychology and mindset.

And [00:22:00] it’s not that it’s just more accurate and I’m like, talk about it the right way or don’t talk about it at all. It’s that. It’s the more effective way. And it’s the way that’s actually going to make you more successful. It’s the way that your clients are actually going to see long term changes and retain, you’re going to retain them longer.

They’re going to send more people back to you. It’s, it’s a big, beautiful thing. Okay. Once we can really understand the true science of mindset, behavior change, and psychology. I wonder how many times in my life I have said those words. slung together like that. The science of mindset, behavior change, and psychology.

Literally, I think I need that as like a tattoo. No, I don’t. I definitely don’t. Okay, I’m going to stop talking now. Love you guys. See you next [00:23:00] time.