Discover a growth mindset.
In Yosemite Valley on the Lower Yosemite Fall Trail, there is a tree growing up out of a little ledge halfway up a wall. I always stop and marvel at trees that can grow out of rock with so little soil, with no clear advantage. Yet it happens all the time.
As you build a personalized wellness plan, spend some time exploring mindset. Do you have a fixed or growth mindset? A fixed mindset is when you believe that your abilities and traits are set and cannot be changed. A growth mindset is when you believe that you can improve and learn through effort and feedback. I used to have a fixed mindset about health in the past, which limited my resilience when it came to physical and mental fitness. I believed the following:
BELIEF ABOUT OTHERS: Some people are just naturally healthy, they don’t have to pay attention to how much they are eating, they naturally eat just the right amount.
BELIEF ABOUT MYSELF: I am NOT one of those people.
BELIEF ABOUT OTHERS: Some people have faster metabolisms and they burn off calories more easily.
BELIEF ABOUT MYSELF: I am NOT one of those people.
BELIEF ABOUT OTHERS: Some people don’t crave chocolate, chips, and other junk food so they don’t struggle with eating the right food.
BELIEF ABOUT MYSELF: I am NOT one of those people.
BELIEF ABOUT OTHERS: Some people have the will power to stick to a diet through the holidays or exercise regularly even in bad weather.
BELIEF ABOUT MYSELF: I am NOT one of those people.
BELIEF ABOUT OTHERS: Some people really love exercise and have the determination to keep going even when exercise is hard or long work outs are boring.
BELIEF ABOUT MYSELF: I am NOT one of those people.
These beliefs made me feel hopeless and helpless about my health. I saw myself as fixed in my approach to eating and drinking. Not one of the lucky people I imagined were all around me. With this outlook, I kept my eyes out for the latest quick fix. I didn’t believe I could take action to eat and exercise for better health on my own so I was always on the lookout for the next gimmick. I tried pills, powdered meals, starving myself, eating only grapefruit, fasting with lemonade, cayenne, and maple syrup, eating food combinations recommended by some guru. All of these provided short term weight loss, but without making structural changes in my life to avoid the pitfalls that existed from how I lived my life, and with my fixed mindset, it was no wonder and no shock when I gained the weight back.
But then I realized that I could change my mindset and my habits. I learned from the examples of people around me who had a growth mindset about health. They showed me that being healthy is not a matter of luck or genetics, but a matter of choice and effort.
My sister is a healthy weight and she works at it. She plans mostly vegan meals with lots of variety so her kids have options. She monitors her weight and health by tracking her eating on Myfitnesspal- a great online app with a free version and a paid version for optimized tracking. She puts in regular effort and has found a system of hiking, long walks, and careful meal planning that are her personalized eating and drinking program.
Another friend of mine who always indulges in junk at parties and who I thought just had a natural metabolism, explained that for the most part, her family eats veggie meals, soups, stir frys, really healthy high bulk low fat meals. She can splurge at parties because she keeps to a healthy diet most of the time. She also makes a point to exercise daily - with her dog or her friends. She enjoys the social and physical benefits of being active and doesn’t see it as a chore or a punishment.
These people inspired me to adopt a growth mindset about health. They showed me that while it might look from the outside that others have it easier than you do in relation to health, that isn’t always true. And while there are exceptions, most people do have to plan their eating and exercise for optimal health. In a world that markets fast food, junk food, sedentary jobs and offers up enormous portions, no effort is bound to end with over consumption, lack of exercise and poor health.
And skinny is not the goal- healthy is. There is quite a bit of talk about excess weight and whether it is connected to longevity or not. Maybe exercise is all you need. But I believe that nutrition, fitness, and mindfulness are inextricably linked. For me, being able to move easily, to be strong, to feel energetic, this matters. When I ignore my wellness, I flounder. It takes only small changes to what I EAT, how much I MOVE, and how frequently I take time to CONNECT to myself and others to push me in the direction of my best self.
Having a growth mindset about health means that you believe that you can improve your health and fitness through your actions and choices. It means that you are willing to learn from others, try new things, and challenge yourself. It means that you are not defined by your past failures or successes, but by your present efforts and goals. It means that you are not comparing yourself to others, but to your own potential. It means that you are not looking for quick fixes, but for lasting changes. It means that you are not giving up.
Resources:
My Fitness Pal: Calorie, Exercise, Macronutient Counter
Smitten Kitchen - many vegetarian and vegan Recipes- great site from on of my favorite cookbook authors!
What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means- article in Harvard Business Review.
25 Journal Prompts For A Growth Mindset- jumpstart your thinking by responding to a few of the journal prompts in this link. I like this one: How Is My Physical Health Affecting My Mindset?
You can get better at anything you’re willing to work on consistently - and don’t forget- somebody loves you.
Hard Luck
Ain’t no use as I can see
In sittin’ underneath a tree
An’ growlin’ that your luck is bad,
An’ that your life is extry sad;
Your life ain’t sadder than your neighbor’s
Nor any harder are your labors;
It rains on him the same as you,
An’ he has work he hates to do;
An’ he gits tired an’ he gits cross,
An’ he has trouble with the boss;
You take his whole life, through an’ through,
Why, he’s no better off than you.
If whinin’ brushed the clouds away
I wouldn’t have a word to say;
If it made good friends out o’ foes
I’d whine a bit, too, I suppose;
But when I look around an’ see
A lot o’ men resemblin’ me,
An’ see ’em sad, an’ see ’em gay
With work t’ do most every day,
Some full o’ fun, some bent with care,
Some havin’ troubles hard to bear,
I reckon, as I count my woes,
They’re ’bout what everybody knows.
The day I find a man who’ll say
He’s never known a rainy day,
Who’ll raise his right hand up an’ swear
In forty years he’s had no care,
Has never had a single blow,
An’ never known one touch o’ woe,
Has never seen a loved one die,
Has never wept or heaved a sigh,
Has never had a plan go wrong,
But allas laughed his way along;
Then I’ll sit down an’ start to whine
That all the hard luck here is mine.
