Growth vs. Fixed Mindset in Endurance Sports

Your mindset is everything. ✨

Mindset researcher Carol Dweck identified two mindsets that people can have about their talents and abilities. The gist is that those with a fixed mindset believe their skills and abilities are fixed. In contrast, people with a growth mindset believe their talents and skills can be developed.

Real talk: almost every single great athlete has a growth mindset. You don't get to be at the top of your sport by being complacent. You get there by challenging yourself and being a student of your sport.

More real talk: most of us have a combination of the two mindsets. You can think of them as a continuum rather than two totally separate ways of thinking. For example, you might find yourself falling into a fixed mindset when running but have more of a growth mindset about learning how to mountain bike. 

It is also worth saying that having a fixed mindset about anything does not make you a bad person. When we're talking about fixed and growth mindsets, it is more important to be aware of the situations in which you tend to have more of a fixed mindset to work on shifting it.

Fixed mindset in endurance sports

• Chooses routes that are easier for training and racing

• Doesn't want to hear what anyone has to say about improving their technique

• Sets goals well within their reach

• Skips things like foam rolling, stretching, strength training, nutrition

• Bails on workouts when they aren't going well

• Believes having a lousy race makes them a lousy athlete

• Gets jealous and anxious over other people having great races

• Knows there is a ceiling to how good they can perform

• Doesn't see the point in continuing to try when they've hit a plateau and aren't seeing results

Growth mindset in endurance sports

• Chooses routes that are hillier and push them to work harder

• Will listen to others when they provide feedback and ask questions

• Sets process goals and stretch goals to get out of their comfort zone

• Makes time for things like foam rolling, stretching, strength training, nutrition

• Uses workouts that aren't going well as experience pushing themselves when they aren't feeling great

• Knows that not all races will be great, and they can learn from the bad ones

• Sees other people's successes as motivating and fires them up

• Is excited to continue working to find out how good they can really be

• Trusts the process and knows that the results will come if they keep working hard

Fixed mindset statements

• "I suck at swimming."

• "This is too hard."

• "I just can't swim fast."

• "She's so fast. I'll never be that fast."

• "I won't try because I might fail."

• "I'm not meant to be a mountain biker."

• "I can't go that pace."

• "I'll never qualify for Kona."

Growth mindset statements

• "I'm not great at running, but I'm working on improving my form."

• "This is hard, but this is how I get better."

• "I'm practicing and learning how to bilateral breathe in swimming."

• "How can I do that race faster? Where can I make improvements?"

• "I'm trying something new in my race today. I'm excited to see how it goes."

• "I have a lot to learn about mountain biking."

• "I can't go that pace yet, but if I keep training, I think I can do it."

• "If I don't qualify for Boston at this race, I'll be sad, but I'll count it as a learning experience for the next try."

How can you develop a growth mindset?

The first step to almost all mindset work is awareness. Start paying attention to what you tell yourself and see if and where you all falling into a fixed mindset. 

Then you want to get in the routine of reflecting on your performances, aka training and racing. After each workout, quickly jot down what went well, what you can improve upon, and what you learned. This is a great way to finish each workout with takeaways and a great way to train your brain to focus on growth and improvement instead of just what went wrong.