"WITHOUT A GOAL ANY PROCESS WILL GET YOU THERE"

When it comes to the development and improvement of Human Performance, in academics, work, athletics and health, there are many key ingredients to success that need to be integrated into the “growth & development plan”. Among these are mindset, nutrition, movement, rest, behaviors/ habits and goal setting strategies.

We have all heard or read statements from Athletic Departments concerning the “moral and ethical values of sports “ in helping build quality citizens. Truthfully, however, it would be hard for any sincere teacher, coach or parent to deny that there are countless parallels and connections between participation in athletics and all other aspects of life.  Indeed, most of the important experiences in competitive athletics don’t exist independent from the life lessons critical to growth in the academic, professional and social aspects of a person’s life.----

SEE Athletes in the Classroom at the bottom of the Specific Topics List to the right of this column!!!

Although I have spent over 40 years in teaching and coaching at all levels, it did not take long for me to embrace the sheer profundity of this Chinese Proverb: “A teacher can open the door for you but you must walk through.”

It is important as teachers, coaches and parents that we educate ourselves, SO we can do the same for our students, athletes and children. Two key elements that are vastly important to successful growth and maturation of young student-athletes concern the teaching and fostering of mindset and goal setting.
Combining these elements with proper nutritional and rest/sleep habits, foundational movement education and time management skills will provide the widest “doorway” to success for our young student-athletes.
Just like coaches and teachers who have learned from other coaches/teachers who have had a plethora of experiences, made and corrected many mistakes and learned through innovation, parents can seek out quality sources of information concerning learning / study techniques and developing proper mindsets and habits in their children. 

Parents must “team” with teachers and coaches to become “the support team” that is needed to guide each young student-athlete towards fulfillment of their growth potential in all things physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual.

Teaching young athletes to focus on the Process of learning/ practicing/training, etc. IS VITAL to their continued motivation and growth.
So, I thought recruiting some high-powered “performers” in both the Athletics and Academics World would provide keen insight into just how to create a successful mindset in our youngsters that will prove a useful tool in the classroom and on the field, court, arena  or track.

First, here is an answer from an elite track coach to the question of “What distinguishes championship performers from also-rans?  

 I would say a level of focus and resolve for what it is they’re trying to accomplish. I’ve personally noticed that most championship performers are or appear to be engaged entirely in what they do day-to-day, on and off the track.

Second, below is part of an article with a reference concerning Dr. Carol Dweck’s book on Mindset and it’s importance to improving a student’s view concerning embracing mistakes as part of the learning process.

“Dr. Dweck has shown repeatedly how a fixed mindset impedes learning, whereas a growth mindset improves learning. With a fixed mindset, one fears mistakes, as they are a sign of one’s lack of talent. However, with a growth mindset, mistakes are an opportunity to improve and are embraced. By teaching children to have a growth mindset, and by increasing their self-esteem, children can improve their learning and ultimately their talent development.”

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HERE IS A BLOG FROM DECATHLON OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST AND WORLD-RECORD-HOLDER, ASHTON EATON. I have taken the liberty of highlighting and underlining points that illuminate the importance of embracing the PROCESS of the JOURNEY to one’s goals.

Read, enjoy, embrace and remember, “every step of the journey IS the journey”.

Gold Medal vs. World Record

August 18, 2014 Ashton Eaton

 

It is a favorite question in the track and field community.  While it seems a majority of responses reside in the “gold medal” camp, it is strictly a personal preference.  At the very least I’ve made a deliberate effort to construct an uninfluenced opinion of my own.

Over time I've discovered I’m most attracted to the pursuit of a result rather than the result itself.  The end product of something I use chiefly as a decision-making mechanism; a guide so to speak.  For example, through the course of trying to obtain a gold medal I was presented with a range of situations that required decisions; some common, some unique. 

 No matter the situation though, it was easy to decide what to do.  What to eat, when to sleep, where to sleep, what to decline, who to communicate with, what to watch, what to write, what to read, what to think; in any of these scenarios and more all I did was ask which decision would most benefit me getting a gold medal.  

This realization led me to understand that a “purpose” is just my compass.  The gold medal was like a carrot on a stick and I found that once I got the carrot it meant less to me than what I had to do to obtain it.  I asked myself what it was about the journey that I liked so much.  In general I liked the feeling of progressing.  I found myself so absorbed with the idea that even failures began to transform into advancements.  I started extending the idea of progression from concerning only myself to involving others, eventually it contained everything I’ve ever known.  

Progression is so plainly fundamental, with all things, that I find it more difficult to find evidence against it than evidence for it.  Essential as it is to me, the ultimate satisfaction would be to contribute to it.  The beauty is this contribution can take any shape for an individual. Progression doesn’t have a forward or backward, it is just a movement toward.  The thing could be personal or public, physical or mental, real or imaginary.  The contributions to the progress of track and field that have given me the most satisfaction are my world records.

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BELOW IS AN ARTICLE WELL WORTH THE TIME TO READ AND ABORB. HOPEFULLY YOU WILL SEE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BLOG BY ASHTON EATON AND THE APPROACH TO CREATING A PROPER IMINDSET?

An Interview with Carol Dweck on Motivating & Affirming Students

Carol S. Dweck, Ph. D., is one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of motivation and is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Her book Mindset is based on the truly groundbreaking idea that achievement and success can come from our mindset. She has spoken to many adults (faculty, parents and coaches) on how our minds work and how we can better lead students. 

Your book Mindset has been a groundbreaking piece that has helped so many teachers and parents, and adults rethink how they lead students, but the book’s main idea isn’t limited to kids. Talk about the major theme of the book.

The major theme of the book is that some people think of their most basic traits as a fixed amount. It is a fixed and limiting mindset. People are so worried with how much they have, how they will look and whether or not they are able to do something, that they don’t take on challenges. They don’t learn as much as they could.

Other people believe that their most basic talents can be developed. They can grow through their efforts, perseverance, strategies and mentoring from others. This growth mindset leads people to take on more challenges. They stick to things, which helps them to accomplish more in the long run.

The two terms you’re using are a fixed mindset, which basically says “I only have so much”, and a growth mindset which says “The sky’s the limit”.

A growth mindset doesn’t promise you that you can be Einstein or Michael Jordan, but it does say that you can improve, and asks the question, “Who knows how much I can improve?”

We work with teachers and coaches, and very often they get stuck in this fixed mindset. They would never say it this way, but theses kids are dumb, they’re limited, they’re just not gonna make it. Kids usually live up to the expectations of those around them, don’t they, the ones that lead them?

It’s really important for a teacher or coach to recognize that a student may be struggling now, but once they get through this, who knows what they are capable of? I see what is lurking under the surface and release what the student is capable of. Teachers need to have growth mindsets themselves. Teaching is an incredibly difficult profession, and your skills will grow throughout your entire career. Every student can teach me something. Every student can make me a better teacher.

Share what led you to research young students. You had a hunch that we were saying the wrong things and praising the wrong things. Talk about what you did at Columbia that really got this thing moving.

I was motivated to research young students when I was at Columbia at the height of the self-esteem movement. They have shown in over 15 years of research that praising intelligence and ability puts kids into a fixed mindset, and it backfires. It limits them. It makes them afraid of challenges. It makes them feel dumb when they’re not succeeding. Some of the most high achieving students are suffering from this. When things aren’t easy, they assume that they aren’t smart. What’s the alternative?

Praising and encouraging the process that the child engages in is really productive. By “process” I mean the strategies the child uses, the effort put in, the persistence, or even taking on a challenging task is admirable. The more you focus kids on the process of learning and improving, the more they will welcome challenges and stick to them.

Talk about why you believe adults get this concept wrong.

There are several reasons that parents get this wrong and praise for the wrong things:

1. We have been brainwashed to think that this is the right way to give kids praise, that this praise is the biggest gift we can give our kids.
2. Dishing out these compliments has become synonymous with being a good parent.
3. We want to think that our kids are brilliant, special geniuses; by extension we then are wonderful because we spawned them. It reflects beautifully on us.

When you were at Columbia, you placed kids into groups. One group was told, “you must really be smart”. The other group was told, “you must have tried really hard.”

The students that were told they were smart after completing a task chose the easier task when offered a choice of tasks. They didn’t want to risk their “gifted” label. But the students that were praised for their process and strategy overwhelmingly wanted the challenge. They had nothing to risk. They only had things to gain. When both groups were given a difficult set of problems, those that were praised for process thrived. Those who were praised for their intelligence started to crumble. They lost their zest for the task. Their performance suffered even when going back to the easier tasks. Later, when they were asked to report their score to another child, 38% of them lied. Because they have a fixed mindset: it is humiliating to struggle. The students that were praised for the process, told the truth and thrived under the difficult tasks.

For parents and teachers, it comes down to conveying a new values system. When students complete an easy task instead of praising them say something along the lines of, “Oh, this is too easy. I’m sorry you wasted your time. Let’s find something else that will help you grow.” It’s the whole idea that easy is boring. We should be teaching our kids to do things that are interesting and worthwhile.

Give me some things we can say instead of “You must be smart.”

1.  “Interesting strategy! Tell me about what you’re doing.”
2. “Wow, you really stuck to that, and look!”
3. “You took on that hard project. You’re gonna learn a lot.”
4. “Yes, when you stick to hard problems, your math brain gets smarter!”

You’re still affirming through this, you’re just changing where the affirmation goes. And, the student is accomplishing something.

What are your recommendations on how to correct ourselves as we lead young people?

Put the emphasis on learning and improvement, not on results. They are utilizing a new study on the word “yet.” It is a growth mindset word. A student may be struggling at math and may say that they are no good, but your response could be that they aren’t good yet. It is very trajectory and gives a lot of hope. It is a parent or teacher saying, “I have confidence that you can do it.”

Finally, never tell kids, “you aren’t a ‘math-person.’” This is fixed phrasing. We rush in to make our kids feel good because we don’t want them to experience self-doubt. Essentially, you are saying that the student doesn’t need to be good at this. You are saying that you are giving up on them, they can give up on themselves and that’s ok. It turns out that some of the kids that struggle in math are just struggling temporarily. Once they get past that, they become very good at math, and then we have no idea where they could go if they persevere. Guide them toward strategy, get them help, and keep them in the game.

Keep your child focused on growing their brain through doing hard things and sticking to them. This is the greatest gift you can give them. It will serve them throughout their lives.

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