Blog > The Gold Medalist Mindset: 3 Growth Mindset Tips

The Gold Medalist Mindset: 3 Growth Mindset Tips

What’s the most essential tool every Gold Medalist has? A strong growth mindset. Here are 3 mindset tips for high achievers.
having a gold winning attitude

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What do all high achievers have in common? Their “Gold Medalist Mindset.” 

You’ve watched successful people’s highlight reels, filled with gold medals and images of them standing on top of the world with their achievements. What you might not see are all the training, obstacles, training, and setbacks these high achievers encountered on their journey to success. In truth, you’re only getting part of the picture until you fully realize what comes with the territory of success: 

  • Injuries 
  • Rejection 
  • Bad investments 
  • Failed business ventures 
  • Being the wrong person for the job 
  • Watching other people succeed in your place 

 

These obstacles miss the highlight reel, but you’ll benefit from knowing that every person you look up to for their achievements has encountered one or more of these obstacles along the way. Your mindset enables you to move through these obstacles to win your gold medal (literally or figuratively). 

A strong growth mindset.

Like all worthwhile goals, a solid growth mindset takes time and effort to develop. The highest achievers spend years developing their mindsets to support their ambitions, often through life coaching or career coaching. No Olympic athlete going for the gold questions the impact their coaching has in their life. 

The same tools are available for you. While some success comes from natural ability, you can improve your skills to achieve the same mindset as gold medalists.  

READ: Mindsets of Olympians 

View obstacles as opportunities

Every Olympian faces obstacles. The effectiveness of their mindset shows itself when they choose to see obstacles as a part of their road to success, rather than evidence they should give up. 

Just consider some Olympic history-makers: 

  • Abebe Bikila took home the gold medal for Ethiopia, running barefoot because his team-issued shoes hurt his feet. (1960) 
  • Kerri Strug helped the U.S. Gymnastics team win gold, despite finishing her vault with a broken ankle. She still stuck the landing. (1996) 
  • Rulon Gardner had never won a college wrestling championship when he went to the Olympics. Despite this, he defeated his opponent, Russian Alexander Karelin, who hadn’t lost a match in 13 years. (2000)

 

Our brains love to look for evidence of things we already believe.  

If you truly believe your success will never come, then every obstacle will be yet another reason to quit. The obstacles you encounter along the way will be another sign of your inevitable failure. No wonder your brain will want to give up! 

But if you turn those obstacles into opportunities… 

Your story becomes one of perseverance. You start seeing every setback as an opportunity to improve yourself. With time and practice, encountering obstacles can become just as exciting as winning. 

It’s exciting when you start to become the person who stares adversity in the face and says, “Bring it on.” 

You’ll be following suit with some of the highest achievers in the world. 

Obstacles shouldn’t be scary, and if you need more convincing that this mindset works, do a little digging into the extensive list of obstacles high achievers can face on their road to success. 

Embrace failing forward

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Just like facing obstacles on your journey, your willingness to fail in pursuit of success will directly impact the highest achievements you gain. 

It’s one thing to meet a roadblock on your way to the gold medal, and it’s quite another to get up on the balance beam and be willing to completely face plant in front of a crowd. 

Often that’s what it takes. You have to be willing to fail forward. 

Failing big and hard can be a great teacher. It can teach you humility, respect, and patience. It teaches you to get comfortable outside your comfort zone. 

A solid growth mindset means knowing that failure is your friend. 

“I don’t like to lose — at anything… Yet I’ve grown most not from victories, but setbacks. If winning is God’s reward, then losing is how he teaches us.” -Serena Williams 

The willingness to associate yourself with failure is what separates Jeff Weiner from his peers. Not only was he not afraid of failure on his journey to success, but he was able to learn from his own failures and the failures of others. 

Weiner knew he was taking on a challenge when he became the interim president of a struggling little company called LinkedIn. What was supposed to be a temporary position eventually evolved into the platform’s success you currently know today. Overcoming his past managerial failures is largely why people respect and admire his leadership style today.  

Seek out quality coaches and mentors

It is possible to figure everything out on your own, but you’ll notice a pattern with your favorite high achievers: they value quality coaching and mentors. 

Whether it’s career coaching to scale your business or the proper instructor to help you on the balance beam, a quality coach is worth their weight in gold (gold medals, that is). 

Investing in coaching may seem like the last thing you want to do when you’re facing adversity. Many people think they need to shape up or prove themselves before a coach accepts them. They think they need to have a return on their investments already before they further invest in coaching. 

Anyone who’s ever worked with a coach will tell you the proper coach is your answer to feelings of overwhelm and self-doubt. 

Just the act of hiring a coach means your mindset is already moving in the right direction. 

You start to think thoughts like: 

  • I haven’t met my goal yet, but I know I will. 
  • I’m worth the time and money it takes to succeed. 
  • The obstacles and failures I’m meeting will make my story great. 
  • I invest in my business, so investing in myself is equally important. 

 

A good life coach or career coach will take your budding growth mindset and 10x it. 

Just look at gymnast Simone Biles for example. With all that it takes to become the Olympic gold medalist she is, it makes you wish you had a coach like hers for your life. 

Though Olympic athletes master the technicalities of their sport, the significant factor that separates the gold medalists from the rest of the pack is the mindset techniques their coaches provide. 

The bottom line

While some success comes from natural ability, you can improve your skills to achieve the same mindset as gold medalists.  

When you take care of your growth mindset first, high achievement suddenly becomes attainable. Mindsets of Olympians require training and perseverance. Athletes face years of obstacles—what wins them the gold is their grit to overcome the adversity to succeed. The strength of your gold medal mindset will determine the magnitude of your success. 

So let us know, in what ways will strengthening your growth mindset help you achieve your goals? Which of these 3 mindset tips are you most excited to embrace? 

 

 

Sources: 

https://arootah.com/mindsets-of-olympians/ 

https://arootah.com/what-do-elon-musk-and-a-mars-robotic-vehicle-have-in-common/ 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2655962-athletes-who-overcame-the-most-to-win-olympic-gold 

https://moneyinc.com/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-jeff-weiner/ 

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/linkedin-ceo-how-compassion-can-build-a-better-company/ 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/22/well/live/how-to-give-pep-talk-olympics.html 

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be and should not be taken as professional medical, psychological, legal, investment, financial, accounting, or tax advice. Arootah does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or suitability of its content for a particular purpose. Please do not act or refrain from acting based on anything you read in our newsletter, blog or anywhere else on our website.

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