Fixed & Growth Mindsets

Hello all,

I hope you haven't all been suffering too much with withdrawal symptoms but don't worry Chapman's Chapters is now back after a short break whilst away on my belated honeymoon.

Whilst away I read to non-sport related books: Unseen Academicals and Thud by Terry Pratchett, author of the long running Discworld series which has now reached over 40 books and my personal favourite author. You may well now be thinking, "How do Discworld books have any relevance to golf, coaching or sport in general?" which, to be fair, is a great questions as normally the answer would be absolutely nothing BUT in Unseen Academicals one of the characters describes a part of the town as a "crab bucket", the reason for this is because if you have a bucket of crabs and one tries to escape it might get all the way to the top but then one of the crabs at the bottom will reach up and drag it back down (to there level). The area in Ankh-Morpork (the made up city in Discworld) has a long tradition of people being born there and spending there whole lives there without trying to move on to better things or achieve higher levels of success and anyone who tries to do so is very much frowned upon and this made me think of the difference of fixed and growth mindsets.

The illustration below, used by the mindset guru Carol Dweck, is the best representation of fixed and growth mindsets that I have ever seen and highlights the differences perfectly.

To go along with this is a diagram from a comedian, Demetri Martin, about what success looks like but I happen to love this diagram as, for me, it represents exactly what success really looks like. The left hand image is how people with a fixed mindset view what success should be like and explains why they give up so easily whereas the picture on the right illustrates how people with a growth mindset ACCEPT what success really looks like and is why they succeed.

People with fixed mindsets think that success is a nice steady path towards there goal so whenever they fail at something they can't handle it and give up straight away as if they can't do it instantly it's not worth trying whereas people with growth mindsets will just see a setback or failure as a stepping stone towards reaching their goal.

Any fellow golf coaches reading this will certainly recognise quite a few of these traits in golfers they coach, both on the fixed and growth side of things. It has nothing to do with handicap, I've coached beginners/20 handicappers with growth mindsets and I've coached quite a few 4 handicaps with very fixed mindsets. I doubt there are many tour players with fixed mindsets but if there are then that could well be what is holding them back from breaking through to win consistently. 

If you're an amateur golfer and you're reading this (or professional for that matter) then take a look at how you practice! How often do you practice the aspect of golf that is your biggest weakness? Or do you just practice what you are good at because you enjoy it? But, will ignoring your weaknesses make you a better golfer? I think you know the answer to that already! Don't moan about not being able to play bunker shots or hole putts...go and practice and if that doesn't work well then go and have some lessons with a PGA Professional and then go and practice it until you turn your weakness into a strength.

Here's a little acronym of mine for a growth mindset; ACHIEVE

A - acceptance; the ability to accept that not always do you succeed first time and you must keep on trying until you do succeed

C - criticism; the ability to receive negative feedback and use it to positively affect your peformance or change your practice habits

H - help; use a good coach to work towards your goals - it is not a sign of weakness or lack of ability to use a coach. If Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Roger Federer all used coaches I think we should to!

I - inspiration; be inspired by other people. If someone who you often beat wins a tournament take inspiration that it means you are good enough to do the same

E - evaluate; honestly take stock of where you are with your game and then work on the bits that need to be improved

V - vivid; have a clear image of what you want to achieve, how you are going to achieve it and who you need to help you to do so

E - equal; all people have the ability to do great things. Our future is not pre-determined for us. Genetics plays a role but hardwork plays an even bigger role.

Another book that I read while I was away was Steve Backley's: The Champion in all of us - 12 Rules for Success. From reading this and my own experiences as a player and coach I have come up with my own rules for success which I will share with you next week.

Until next week,

Happy Golfing

Ed 

Coaching educational book I am currently reading: The Seven Laws of the Golf Swing by Nick Bradley.....again

General book I am reading: Snuff by Terry Pratchett

Next on my list: Mindset by Carol Dweck

Next week................Chapman's Rules for Success

Ed Chapman is a Class AA British PGA Golf Professional @ Al Badia Golf Club by InterContinental, Dubai Festival City


PGA Certificate in Golf Psychology Coaching - May 2012
ASQ PGA Certificate in Golf Coaching Level 2 - October 2007

Bibliography
Unseen Academicals - Terry Pratchett
Nigel Holmes' Mindset Diagram