"The view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you live your life."
– Carol S. Dweck, Ph. D.
Change isn't always easy, but when we want to make improvements of any kind, it will involve doing something differently than the way we have always done. If we're going to change permanently, we need to make the practices and behaviors associated with our desired change permanent as well. Implementing new lifestyle habits to improve our quality of life seems easy compared to changing our minds, perceptions, and attitudes.
Our overall mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how we make sense of the world and ourselves. It influences, probably more than you thought capable, and affects how you feel, think, and behave in any given situation. It can and does determine whether we believe we can change and improve or not change and improve. This belief becomes very important when achieving specific health goals such as losing weight, eating healthier meals, and improving physical performance. A significant part of successfully reaching these goals comes from believing that you can become better through practicing and learning new skills necessary to achieve lifelong health and wellness.
In the book, Mindset the New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck. Ph. D. various studies and interviews help explain the difference between two very different mindsets, a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset, and how these two ways of thinking determine a person's view of any challenge. A fixed-minded person believes that people are born with natural talent and abilities and specific intelligence levels. This same group tends to be more judgmental and outcome-focused, leading to resistance to new challenges that may put them in a negative light or cause them to fail, and in their eyes, look bad. In contrast, a growth-minded person believes individuals are born with unique gifts, but anyone can develop intelligence, talents, and abilities with education, effort, and practice. They look at new challenges as an opportunity to learn new things, become better, and improve. This group knows that achievement in anything, including health and wellness, is derived from specific learned practices such as healthy eating, daily exercise, quality sleep practices, and stress management. They are more willing to try new things and accept failure as necessary to learn, not a personal judgment of identity. Many people find themselves a combination of both mindsets, fixed-minded in certain aspects of life and growth-minded in other facets.
When you become more aware of your mindset, what is your attitude toward specific health and wellness goals?
If you want to make healthy choices a priority in your life, do you believe you can learn to manage your time every day to include health and fitness objectives?
If you want to lose weight and become fitter, do you believe you can do it?
If you want to experience the joy of a healthy and robust body, do you believe you can meet the activity and exercise changes necessary for reaching this goal?
If you want to improve your health, do you believe you can make the nutritional choices necessary to become optimally well and reduce your risk of illness and disease?
If you want to be more optimistic and improve your outlook on life, do you believe you have the power to do so?
Interestingly, your attitude is the crucial key to successfully achieving the health goals mentioned above. Overall, a mindset about implementing the necessary actions toward improved health and fitness will help you look for opportunities to eat better and be more active, or help you find excuses preventing you from doing the same positive activities. It all starts in your mind, which is the driver of actions, and your attitude will view these same actions as begrudging chores or positive, feel-good behaviors.
Along with our attitude about implementing new health behaviors, we also need to know how we feel about failure and making mistakes. I have worked with many clients who view failure as wrong and unacceptable, yet failing is neither bad nor good but a part of learning and growing into better people. Look at it this way; if growth and knowledge come through discomfort and challenge, how can you become better, learn new things, and make improvements without becoming a bit uncomfortable initially? Remaining in your comfort zone, never trying new things, or giving up when things get challenging will not lean to improvements but only keep you treading water in the same place.
Deciding to change your attitude begins with a personal choice to view life through an optimistic perspective and will take some effort initially. You will make mistakes and have setbacks, and things may even get a bit hard, but when you notice and try to do better next time, eventually, things will become more natural with time and intentional practice.
You can start to improve your attitude and mindset today through a simple choice to see the positive in everything you observe and slowly begin to change the lens you view life through. It starts with a simple choice and commitment to try.
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Join us next Sunday when we provide proactive nutritional tips through the practice of meal planning.
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