Each year around this time, a number of sources come together to name a “Word of the Year” based on popular internet searches, polls, and the number of times it appears online. In the year 2012, Twitter ran “hashtag” to the top of the list, and in 2013 “selfie” narrowly edged out “twerk” to take the top spot. Strangely enough, these are all terms I have chosen to avoid using, along with “no worries”, “stoked”, and “shoot” (you) an email. Anyway, according to the Oxford Dictionaries, the word of the year earns honors because it has been “judged to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of that particular year, and to have lasting potential as a word of cultural significance.”
What a cool concept. One word can sum up a whole year. Not only that, but it can dictate the future of a culture. When I think of a word that has had that much of an effect on the culture at Advantage Strength in the last year, one clear frontrunner comes to mind… Mindset. It permeates what I have read and written this year, and has profoundly affected the way I coach.
I first learned about the power of mindset in Carol Dweck’s book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. According to Dweck, people either have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. In a fixed mindset, people see themselves as having a certain amount of intelligence, athleticism, charisma, etc that they cannot change. On the other hand, people in the growth mindset believe they have infinite potential to improve certain attributes. Guess who ends up being more successful! To learn more about the different mindsets, check out the Mindset section in The Elite Performer Pyramid.
The reason “mindset” was such an instant improvement for me as a coach was because it introduced the power of “yet”. I might not be good at this YET, but give me time to learn and I will be. Each obstacle turned into a learning opportunity, every mistake a chance to improve. The power of a growth mindset has set a standard that will continue to dictate the way we coach at Advantage and the culture we embody for our members and athletes. That is why it has earned Word of the Year at Advantage. Having a growth mindset and encouraging others to do the same has helped us coach more positive, more successful athletes and clients.
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