Reframe Your Mindset For Success

How Does Reframing Bring You Closer to Success?

 

Here are two scenarios and two mindsets to help answer that question.

 

Scenario 1

Work up to max squat for the day. You hit 255lbs, your best is 270lbs. How do you handle the result?

 

Mindsets

  • Short-term Outcome-based

    • Do you respond by being frustrated? Are you disappointed? Do you start catastrophizing? Do you place blame on yourself, on your coach, the way your entire life has been going up to this point? Does this “failure” validate your suspicion that you have and will always be a failure? Do you think that there’s something seriously wrong? Do you ask a deeper question…is all this anguish even worth it anymore?  

  • Long-term Process-based

    • Do you feel content and accomplished that you’ve listened to your body and attempted the most weight you could for the day? Do you realize that although it wasn’t a personal best your overall average everyday strength has increased? Do you acknowledge that keeping focused, showing up and trying your hardest every single day is what allows strength to increase long term?

 

Scenario 2

Work up to max squat for the day. You hit a personal best 275lbs. How do you handle the result?

 

Mindsets

  • Short-term Outcome-based

    • Do you feel ecstatic and overly confident? Do you feel like nothing can stop you? Do you immediately set your next squat goal to be 315lbs? Does this tempt you to max out your squat again next week? Does it tempt you to max out your bench and deadlift too? Does it make you greedy, feeling like you’ll never be strong enough?

  • Long-term Process-based

    • Do you feel content and accomplished that you’ve listened to your body and attempted the most weight you could for the day? Do you realize that personal bests come when your body is ready for it? Do you acknowledge that keeping focused, showing up and trying your hardest every single day is what allows strength to increase long term?

 

 Let’s analyze the behavior of these two mindsets from these two scenarios.  

Mindset Analysis

  • Short-term outcome-based - Drastic swing from depressed to manic. The resulting behavior goes from feeling like you can’t accomplish anything to being on the top of the world.  

  • Long-term process-based - Very little change from both scenarios. The resulting behavior is accepting the outcome and acknowledging that putting more time into strength training will produce a long-term increase in strength.  

 

Why Sticking to a Plan Works?

Working with a coach, sticking to a strength program and addressing your internal dialogue provides the environment to build the traits of a long-term process-based lifter. Throughout the journey you will battle negative thoughts. The process of reframing your perspective is hard but, it is the most important tool to nurture long term progress.

The ideal lifter uses moments of frustration as opportunities to address and rewrite internal dialogue. This dialogue is an impulse, a reaction, something that requires persistent efforts to change. What we choose to do with this reaction determines who we become. When someone is good at reframing, behavior and mindset change is done instantaneously. To get to that point first one must identity  the impulse event and second attempt to reframe during the event. If they miss the opportunity to identify or reframe a reflection at the end of the day distilling an action plan for next event will suffice. Bear in mind the end result is behavior and mindset change during the impulse. So, if you are struggling with that leap, ask for help from your coach or someone you trust.

 

Picture that you have two jars

Jar 1 - Short-term outcome-based mindset

Jar 2 - Long term process-based mindset

 

If we react with rage, spite and anger we put a marble in Jar 1

If we react with compassion, acceptance and trust we put a marble in Jar 2

 

At the end of the year, how many marbles do you have in each jar? Do you want more marbles in Jar 1 or Jar 2?

Success

If you are working with the right coach, your mindset ultimately determines your progress. The right mindset is created through many repetitions. Change your mindset prioritize getting reframing reps in. In the beginning making progress feels like you are faking it. That’s normal, that’s you trying your best. As time goes you start experiencing genuine feelings of acceptance and contentment for your efforts. The sting of failure and the drunken euphoric states of success will all be but a fading shell of how you once thought progress was meant to feel like.  

 

BOUNS: Practical application

Here are 3 tricks to help reframe your internal dialogue. 

When an impulse arises…

  1. Think of your role model. How would your role model handle this situation?

  2. If you were your best friend, what would you say to yourself?

  3. If you were someone who another person looked up to you, how would you want them to see you respond?