Chapter 4: Sports: The Mindset of a Champion
Watch the following video. Do you have the mindset of a champion? Do you do your best work when things are going for you or against you? How can you use a mindset to raise your game when it counts most?
Famous Failures
I would like to think that I have the mindset of a champion. When things are not going my way I generally step up my game to be sure that I am successful. I have a competitive personality, so I need to use a growth mindset to help me achieve my goals. That being said, when things are going my way, I have the confidence to keep on going and I often exceed my original goals.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely- when things are going your way it is so much easier with confidence to keep going. There are so many people that when things stop going their way they give up. We have to find that drive to keep going even when we are struggling.
DeleteAchieving a goal takes a lot of steps and planning. I think a true champion has to remember why they originally started the mission to achieve their goals. When you lose sight of the steps it takes to achieve long term goals, people often give up too easily.
DeleteI think I have the mindset of a champion as long as it is something I am passionate about. I am one of those people that if you say it cannot be done, I will find a way to prove you wrong. I feel like I am also pretty positive, so I always like to "find a way". When I am playing a sport (tennis or golf for example) and I get down, I feel like I am pretty good about picking myself up when things are going wrong and digging deep to finish strong. It may not always be a win, but I can always walk away saying that I did not leave anything out there...
ReplyDeleteLori, I like your point about it needing to be something that you are passionate about. I think that when a person is intrinsically motivated it is easier to maintain a growth mindset.
DeleteLori,
DeleteYou are always smiling! :-) You always look positive! :-)
I love this question because I am the most competitive person I know! I have always been an athlete and with that comes a certain amount of desire and edge to always compete well. Moments throughout a sporting event always drive you to do better or compete harder. Same holds true in life! You can have a champion mind set in the daily rigors of life. I am sure everyone can relate to a daily moment where you had to dig in, think positive and move forward! I think when faced with anything thrown your way, whether its sports related, work or personal, everyone has a champion mind set.
ReplyDelete"If you have never failed you have not tried anything new", that is a very powerful statement. I believe failure makes certain people stronger. Again it goes back to their mind-set. If they are at a point in their lives where their mind-set is fixed...that is where they will stay. If they are in a growth mind-set then they will become stronger and gain confidence to keep trying. Growth mind-set allows just that...a chance to grow and move on from your failures. I love a challenge. I have learned to have a champion mind-set. Hard work and determination will get you to do your best.
ReplyDeleteSue, I agree failure can make you stronger. I always tell my students that if they don't do so well on a test, they should really focus how they can improve next time and not how bad they did. This will take a growth mindset!
DeleteI like how you make reference to a "point in their lives."
DeleteThe video was interesting. I knew many of the stories, but not all of them. I'm going to borrow it and use it in my advisory class. The main message is one of perseverance. I think that when it comes to the "big" things in life, when faced with challenges and setbacks, I have been able to persevere. Sometimes when it comes to the day-to-day stuff, I get stuck in a fixed mindset. I sometimes take on too much at once, life adds more, and then I get stressed out about how I am going to juggle everything. I think that being self-aware is probably the best way to raise your game. When a fixed mindset steps in, it is important to step back, prioritize, maintain a positive outlook, work hard, and not sweat the small stuff.
ReplyDeleteI think you make an extremely strong point about being self aware.
DeleteI am also a competitive person. I set goals for myself. I also feel I push through set backs and troubles in life with a positive attitude that things will improve and we all have ups and downs . I feel we can learn a lot from our mistakes and grow to becoming better from them. The competitor in me is what makes me accept challenges and take risks which then helps me grow and learn. I like to win but know sometimes losing is part of the game.
ReplyDeleteIt is true Carol that we all love to win. But, the losing is definitely a challenge. It can be heartbreaking and defeating. However, I believe most of us have learned how to get past defeat. I worry more about many of the students I teach today. The tantrums, the anger, and the tears are quite alarming for losing a simple board game or recess game. Many children are not learning how to deal with those losses. I do think this could stand in the way of future successes. Everyone needs to learn to lose and to fail. It hurts, but it is what makes us stronger people. That in turn, takes us on the road to success. The video displayed how crushing defeats or words made a difference in those people. I remember someone using the old toys - the weebles - where they say, "Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down." It is about perseverance. You may lose a bit of ground, but you come back and you keep fighting. Thus, the mind of a champion.
DeleteCompetition is a good thing; however, it does not drive me. And I don't get upset when I don't win. Sometime I wonder why I don't get upset, but I don't. I feel like I have won or accomplished something when I know I have done my personal best, learned or tried something new, and/or helped someone else achieve their goal.
DeleteMy focus on competition has changed significantly over the years. I feel more objective about situations as I watch over my own children and notice what they choose to work towards aggressively. I know some of their efforts are worthwhile and others they will be chalking up to learning experiences.
DeleteThis video is very interesting. It proves that even very successful people have had struggles. I think that now I have a mindset of a champion, but didn’t always growing up. Now that I am older I am able to not shut down from my mistakes, but learn from them. When things are not going my way, I rarely give up. I try harder or do something that can help me improve. Having a growth mindset when things do not go your way can help you try harder next time and not give up. Always trying something new has helped me develop a growth mindset as well. I like to keep challenging myself in my career and personal life. I tell my students how important this is as well!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how we change over the years and learn to work through life's challenges. It is that growth mindset that carries us through!
DeleteThis is an area of my life that has definitely changed over the years. When I was very young, I was carefree and didn't worry. I definitely thought like a champion. However, as I got into around 3rd grade, I started questioning myself. I was too afraid to make any mistakes, and I always had to be in control. I couldn't risk being wrong or doing anything wrong. So, I didn't challenge myself as much for fear of failure. However, my academics were an area I could control, so I became very competitive. I was very shy so this was an area I could work on without anyone noticing me - yet from afar would keep track of honor rolls, etc. I don't believe I had confidence though or the heart of a champion at that point. It wasn't until I became a teacher and realized where I knew I belonged that I felt like I could be more self confident and truly see myself grow. It was something I was passionate about, so I felt like I could be myself and challenge myself in all of these new ways. The teaching profession set me up with goals I could work to attain and help me to be inspired. If you are not inspired and motivated, it can be very difficult to have the heart of a champion. This is why we need to help guide our students in a direction where they will find inspiration and confidence. We also need to teach them early on that mistakes and failures will come, but it is what we do with them/learn from them, that will guide them on their path to success.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story, and example about how you knew teaching was the perfect fit for you.
DeleteKaren, I loved and agree with your statement "If you are not inspired and motivated, it can be very difficult to have the heart of a champion. This is why we need to help guide our students in a direction where they will find inspiration and confidence." I can't agree with that more. What's more important, is that we try to instill that drive, determination, perseverance ad mindset in all of the young lives we work with everyday. We have a very powerful job!
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ReplyDeletehaha.... I'm about as unathletic as they come, or so I labeled myself as that at a very early elementary age. I tried to "hide" so as not to have to participate. Of course, never trying, meant I simply was as bad at sports as I thought I was. I never developed those skills. By the time I reached high school, I found friends who were also more academic and less athletic. Our joke was "as athletic as a juju bean", and so when I became more interested in athletics and wanted to related to the athletic students, I became a scorekeeper. For me, this was an answer without having to try sports. As an adult, I will still not be the first to volunteer for any type of sport event! (even family volleyball) Thanks to skiing, I discovered I was okay to try new things as long as people weren't counting on me. I love to ski, hike, scramble up mountains by the tree line, XC ski. snowshoe... these things might be considered athletic, no? So over time, my mindset changed. Although I still do not consider myself competitive, I do know that I have high expectations of myself and am pretty competitive with myself, to seek out new experiences, to improve areas I would like to improve, to add new challenges to life (the ones that I pick I quite like, it's the challenges we don't choose that are the tough one.)
ReplyDeleteI think I found my growth mindset/heart of a champion (as we are calling it here), in the sense that I wasn't going to let anything break me when I was a young mom going through a divorce. No job. No money. Left my house... blah blah blah.... details unimportant. BUT it was the perpetual jumping off a cliff in my life. And I landed okay. Everything ended up okay. It ended up more than okay. I had a good life, raised my children well, went back to school and succeeded in supporting them, as well as finding something that would enrich my life... being a teacher. I am so grateful for the experiences I had, as I know they contributed to the person I am today. Had I not had them, I am quite sure I would have found others which would have also led me to growth mindset, and being open to more things in my life. It’s been a gradual journey.I am someone who can feel overwhelmed easily, but I have learned to help control that. I can't go as far as to say that being under pressure results in being my strongest. However, when things are at their worse, my attitude switches to a "bring it on- you're not going to break me!" and I know I can handle whatever is ahead.
Do you have the mindset of a champion? Do you do your best work when things are going for you or against you? How can you use a mindset to raise your game when it counts most?
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome video! Every time they described someone, I couldn't wait to see who they were talking about!! Like many of the other comments, I would like to think that I have the mindset of a champion, but I would never describe my self as having the mindset of a champion. I am by nature a very determined person. No is never an option for me when I want to do something. (No is an option when I don't want to do something, though. I decide if it is worth my effort.) If I want something or want to do something, I do what I need to do to get it or get something done. I rarely see obstacles, and when I do, my mind immediately thinks of how to get past them. This was especially true when I was younger. I grew up in a rural setting, which created an atmosphere of adventure, risk and hard work. I was always competing with my sister ( who was more competitive than I was) to climb one branch higher on the tree, jump the higher fence or win the race when riding the horses (I rarely even used a saddle~ just jumped on and took off!) My sister and I were the first people in our family to go to college. That was a big deal because we were not well off, so I knew ahead of time that I had to pay for it, whether out of my own pocket or student loans. I Worked a 40 hour a week full time job, (and also sometimes a part time job as well) to get through college. I actually got my Bachelors Degree in a little over three years because I took as many classes as I could during the summer. But I wanted that degree, so I did whatever I had to do. I drove a full size pick-up truck for 25 years because it was unconventional. I bought and own a large frame Harley Davidson Fat Boy because everyone told me it was too big for me. I have my pistol permit and enjoy target practice when most people told me that it was a bad idea. Unfortunately, I find that I am getting older, I am losing some of that drive and motivation, maybe that determined mindset, which makes me very sad. I think I went from a mindset of "I can do anything" to "why am I working so hard?". My mom says it's maturity, I saw it's getting old and boring.
I feel that I have the mindset of a champion. I have always worked hard a and persevered through the difficult times. Yet I'll admit I can get discouraged every once in a while but I keep going and push harder to be successful. Going through he layoff that I did and having to support a family I definitely woudl say I have the mindset of a champion and did what I needed to so we woudl have a roof over our heads and our daughter had what she needed. I also think that a support system is an integral part of having the mindset of a champion. I had my husband and my friends to lean on through out the entire thing.
ReplyDeleteI am glad it worked out for you! I had a similar experience working for BOCES. I always thought it was so cliche but it really is true..."When the going gets tough, the tough get going!" You do what you have to - and then you can look back at those tougher times and wonder - how did I get through that?
DeleteI am not sure I have the mindset of a champion, but I do have the mindset of someone that was raised to never give up. It is not easy doing the hard work when things are against me...but that is when my upbringing kicks into gear. I don't look at life as only involving the positive, happy, and fun moments. I look at life as a combination of the good with the bad, the happy with the sad, and the fun with the boring. That is life, and some days might be accomplished in small segments of time. To be successful in certain situations, I don't look at a whole day...I break it into hours or sometimes even minutes, depending on the challenge. There is success in accomplishing a few minutes or hours of the day. Before I know it, I have accomplished a few days, weeks, or months. I know I have used this phase in other courses; however, it is something that my mom says and has stuck with me over the years..."Inch by inch, it's a cinch....yard by yard, it's hard".
ReplyDeleteThis video was awesome! I feel I do have the mindset of a champion. I do feel that I always find a way to achive all my goals. At times, I can be over sensitive. I think I need to toughen up at times. Through the mindset I will continue to gain confidence to achieve my goals.
ReplyDeleteI loved that video, it was so interesting to see who they were going to show after each segment. So many people think champions rose the ranks naturally without much effort. I tell my students success comes with previous failures, and failure sometimes lead to success when you don't give up. I'm not an athletic person, but I do enjoy exercising. I might not be the most coordinated or athletic person in the room, but I believe if you are trying your best, you can be your own champion. It takes a long time to master a skill or get in the best physical shape, however it only takes a very short time to loose that skill or get out of shape. Then you starting again at ground zero! It takes a real champion to start again to achieve equal or greater success than before.
ReplyDeleteYes, we have to help students understand the power of starting over.
DeleteI don't feel I have a competitive spirit.I don't need to win to feel good about being engaged in activities with others. But,I do have a champion mindset. I enjoy challenging myself to learn new creative skills. I am currently learning how to make art quilts. This is an endeavor I want to pursue when I retire so I have been studying and practicing techniques for about a year.I recently made a wall hanging for my daughter's wedding shower. One part of the quilt didn't come out exactly as I planned. I tried to rework it 2-3 times. Instead of obsessing over perfection I decided to leave the "mistake" as part of the character of the quilt and to guide me to skills I still need to develop.
ReplyDeleteI found this video a great reinforcement of perseverance, drive and stamina. Were they competitive or stubborn...I'm not sure...all I know is that their perseverance, drive (and skill [which one could argue came about due to their drive]) along with their growth mindset allowed them to achieve such greatness. I am not the most competitive person however, when push comes to shove, and deadlines are approaching I do whatever is necessary to complete the task at hand. I always try to stay positive, learn from my mistakes and don't stress the small stuff.
ReplyDeleteI believe I have a champion mindset. I feel like I rise to each occasion that has occurred in my life, whether it is personal or professional. When I am faced with a challenge that appears overwhelming, I find that I can dig deeper than I thought possible and get the job done. My competitive spirit provides me with the determination and drive to accomplish my goals....through use of the growth mindset.
ReplyDeleteI was just going through and reading all of these comments and I realized - mine is not here...I must not have clicked publish...opps. In any case, I would be lying if I did not admit my competetive nature. I don't think it is "in your face" crazy, but competition does motivate me. Now that I think about it - I wonder if it is more a fear of failure than a thrill to compete??? I take losing well - as it happens often haha. I would say I compete with myself - I do try to teach my children and my students that. Tracking scores or accomplishments so they can"break your own record - don't worry what everyone else is doing". Dribbling a ball is a perfect example - I have them track how many in a row before a mistake, write the number on the board, try again to beat that number. Kids see their own progress and continue to challenge themselves.
ReplyDeleteAfter working with special education students for so many years and seeing students experience failure way to often I have learned to look for that special gift that each person has. I truly believe that inside of each of us there lies a special talent that is just waiting to surface. Given the right opportunity and effort I feel that each one of us has the potential to be a champion of sorts. Sometimes the key to success is finding out that you don't have to follow the same rules as everyone else!
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