The Importance of a Growth Mindset: On and Off Your Mat
BY MARY O’MALLEY
Pilates is a movement methodology that centers on connection to the core in order to strengthen the rest of the body. It is beautiful and graceful, mixing flexibility with strength and stamina. It focuses on precision and form, challenging people to work with a level of attention to their bodies that may be a new experience. You may have never noticed that your pelvis rotates to the left, or that one shoulder is higher than the other. Maybe you tend to lean on one leg more than the other, and that’s created some instability or overcompensation patterns elsewhere.
Much of my job as a movement teacher is to use the pilates method to bring these imbalances to light to help resolve them while creating more strength and ease in the body. After a few years of teaching, I noticed a pattern with how my clients responded to this kind of information. Some clients took kindly to these observations, engaging with me about the feedback because they felt it helped them progress further in their practice. But other students directed harsh criticism at themselves when something needed practice or didn’t come easily. My feedback was perceived less as a challenge to overcome and more as a personal fault that would never change. I heard many iterations of “I can’t do this” or “I’ll never figure this out”. I knew this wasn’t true, but how could I prove it to someone whose mind is made up? If I knew the potential to succeed was there, could I shift my client’s perspective about themselves to see what I saw?
According to Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, the answer is “yes.” Dr. Dweck studies human motivation; specifically, how people deem themselves successful (or not). She posits that people move through life with a “mindset” she defines as either fixed or growth. People with a “fixed” mindset believe they were born with a fixed set of skills/ talent/intellect that cannot be altered no matter what is tried. These people are very outcome oriented and hard on themselves. They don’t often try new things for fear they won’t be done “right” or performed perfectly. Those with a “growth mindset,” believe that skills, intelligence and talent come from effort and perseverance. Growth mindsets like challenges and trying new things. Just because something doesn’t come naturally doesn’t equate to failure; gaining proficiency and enjoying the challenge of getting out of your comfort zone is valuable in itself.
What’s fascinating about mindset is that it can be changed. Studies have shown that our neural connections get strengthened the more we practice something. This means a fixed mindset can be moved towards growth by doing things like promoting process over product, cultivating persistence and noticing when your inner voice is speaking from a critical place.
After I learned I could help grow my students’ mindsets, I’ve altered my teaching style to reflect these concepts. For example, I now tend to explain that any critiques I offer about form should be viewed simply as data - no judgment attached. I recommend that my clients approach each pilates session from a place of curiosity and openness, and I tend to emphasize the effort it took to perform a particular exercise rather than the exercise itself. I try to be careful about stating that something looks “perfect,” instead asking the client how it feels to be in that specific position. Finally, I promote challenges by explaining how trying something new or different can benefit the client, instead of offering it up as a feat to be overcome.
I’ve always felt that how someone presents in the studio is how they are in their whole life, especially when it comes to how they approach challenges and requests to go beyond their comfort level. Mindsets guide a person’s behavior, their motivations, and how they perceive themselves and their capabilities. It affects the quality of their lives and how they imagine what’s possible. If I can affect that process through my work in a positive way, I’m all in.
Mary O’Malley, Platfor(u)m Contributor
P.S. Remember that no matter what you're going through right now, you don't have to do it alone! There are others like you in our community, where we interact on a daily basis, fight our demons, share our victories, and watch over each other as friends and accountability partners.
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