Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

I had the privilege of attending a webinar recently which included a presentation by Carol Dweck, Ph.D. who wrote the book Mindset.  She spoke about the theory she has researched extensively at Stanford University as it applies to people trying to lose weight.

Basically there are two mindsets she describes: The fixed mindset and the growth mindset.  People develop one or the other of these mindsets in different aspects of their lives (education, relationships, eating behaviors) and through different experiences and perspectives. 

Those with the fixed mindset think, "this is just the way things were meant to be", as in "Being fat is just in my genes" or "I was just meant to be this weight" or "No matter what I do it's just not going to work".  Sound familiar?

Those who are of the growth mindset, on the other hand, look for ways they can improve, appreciate challenges, and try to figure out what they can do next to get the results they prefer.  "The last time I lost weight, this is what worked for me, so I would like to try that again" or "If I watch less television I'll have more time to exercise".  They enjoy strategizing and achieving and accomplishing.  If this sounds familiar, you must have clients who are great fun to work with!

We already know how important frame of mind is in weight loss success. This way of categorizing how people think and why clarifies more precisely where people are coming from and how they can adjust their thinking to improve their success at getting the weight off.
It helps me, as a weight loss coach, to see how I can direct my line of questioning to steer my clients towards a more positive outlook.

What helps people to move more towards the "growth" mindset is experiencing success from their actions and being acknowledged for their actions.  People who are of the "fixed" mindset often grew up being told "you are so pretty" or "you are smart", giving credit to the way they were born and not credit to anything they tried doing (ie, you are just born smart or pretty and lucky you if you are).

Children who were complimented on their accomplishments in a way that acknowledged their effort ("great job on that test--you must have studied very hard") turned out to be more growth minded because they realized they could achieve something by working instead of just through fate.

It's important for our clients to realize they do have control over their weight.  This is the first step to letting them move forward--realizing they can affect change.  Helping people shift from a fixed to a growth mindset can be a great investment of time at the beginning of working with a client in order to best support them and help them change.

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