Effort, Support & Learning

In the previous post, we discussed why praising athletes “shamelessly” might foster the Fixed Mindset. That does not mean we should hold back praises. Instead, we may want to be more deliberate in reinforcing the actual effort that leads to learning (rather than ability), and to mix up external praises with process based feedback.

The objective for this post is similar to the last one – to provide anyone in a coaching role (you could be a teacher or parent) with strategies that will help their athletes foster a mindset that pushes one to train consistently, cope with inevitable failures and to bounce back even stronger and better.

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Why ‘Good Job’ is not good enough…

Ever came across “positive” coaches who praise athletes for almost anything they do? I vividly remembered a rollerblading coach who was constantly praising kids even when they performed the drills incorrectly. There was this one kid who told her that he needed to leave early and her reply was “Good Job! Go ahead”.

How is leaving early deserving of praise I wondered…

“Why Good Job is not Good enough…” 

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Growth Mindset…Seriously?

No doubt, that the notion of the Growth Mindset has been steadily gaining popularity over the past decade. It’s also has made quite a difference – from improving grades, relationships and helping persons cope better with challenges and stressors.

But popularity has a price – people sometimes distort and oversimplify ideas, and the paybacks are substantially oversold! Not uncommon to hear motivational speakers and “success gurus” (over national radio no less!) spout BS such as anything is possible with the Growth Mindset””, and associating the idea of Growth Mindset to the pseudo-scientific idea of “positive thinking”. Ironically enough, some of these ideas are actually more aligned with the Fixed rather than the Growth Mindset!

“Nobody is going to fault you for not achieving the impossible right?”

Case in point: Many would assume that somebody who screams about Thinking Big and setting out to achieve the impossible as one who is aligned with the Growth Mindset. But let’s pause for a moment and consider this…

If I set an impossible goal and NOT achieve it vs. setting a realistic goal and NOT achieve it, which would make me look stupid?

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