Coaches Corner – Elite Mindsets for the New Year

As you enter 2025 and start mapping out your goals, getting your mindset right is key. When you attempt to accomplish big goals without having the right mindset or being prepared for the obstacles that may come up, you might be setting yourself up for failure.

A leading voice on the topic of mindsets and mental performance is Brian Cain, who is a #1 best selling author and one of the world's premier authorities on the topic of mindset and mental performance. He has coached hundred's of NFL, NBA, UFC, and NHL athletes and National Championship teams on the subject of mental performance.

A key concept that Brian talks about is being able to change your perspective, because your perspective is your reality. Your mindset is how you see yourself, and that dictates a large part of your confidence in your ability to change and progress. Your mindset is a decision, it is in your control. The research indicates that a growth mindset, versus a fixed mindset, is a major key to success. Whether that success is in your career, or your fitness, the concepts are the same.

A fixed mindset may sound like, "I was always the overweight kid, I've always been out of shape as an adult, I can never seem to stick to it. So I guess this is the body I'm stuck with."

For someone struggling to overcome a fixed mindset about their health, a growth mindset says, "Just because I have not achieved the body I want yet, does not mean I can't. I know I need to be patient, and I need to put the work in for longer than a couple weeks at a time."

Here are three tips from Brian on achieving a growth mindset.

Tip #1:
When you make the switch from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, you have to follow it with action. Don't get distracted by the 100 yard goal. Think about the next ten yards in front of you, and how you can move the ball to that next ten yard line. Write down your year end goal, break that down into a quarterly goals, then monthly, weekly, and daily goals. 

Tip #2:
Brian says to recognize the triggers that cause you to lose sight of the goal. Remember the acronym, E+R=O. Event + Response = Outcome. For instance, someone who is working on losing weight can recognize that they go off plan when they get hungry and don't have healthy options available. When unprepared, the event of hunger, met with the response of fast food, results in a setback outcome. Growth mindset anticipates challenges and prepares for them. The event of getting hungry, met with the response of having a healthy meal prepped ahead of time, results in an outcome of staying on track with goals. Adversity always happens, your ability to respond dictates the outcome.

Tip #3:
Implement a "Start, Stop, Continue" system. This system helps you identify: behaviors that you are not doing but need start implementing, behaviors that you are practicing that you need to stop, and behaviors that you practice which are positive and you need to continue implementing.

Apply these concepts across your fitness, career, and personal goals, to get yourself to the next level.