What is a growth mindset in nutrition?

In order to understand what a growth mindset in nutrition is, it is good to know where the idea of a “growth mindset” came from. More than 30 years ago, a researcher called Carol Dweck and her colleagues started researching students and their attitude towards failing. They observed that while some of the students rebounded and came back after failure, other students were devastated by the setbacks. It is at that stage when the terms “growth mindset” vs. “fixed mindset” were coined. The researchers found that when students believe that they can improve, and therefore put in the time and the effort, they achieve higher goals. When students believed they had a fixed intelligence, and could therefore not improve, they struggled to improve and did not recover from failure.

Your amazing brain

New science on the brain and neuroplasticity shows that our brains are far more changeable than we ever thought.

Data on neuroscience shows that neural networks can grow new connections, strengthen the ones that already exist, and speed up the transmission of impulses. We literally increase the growth of neurons by taking action. Each time we perform an activity, like making a healthy choice, practicing a skill, etc., we are literally increasing the neural pathway of that specific activity.

What is a mindset, and what does that have to do with nutrition?

A mindset is a “set of assumptions, methods or notations”. It is essentially how you view the world around you, and how you react to what happens in your life.

The mindset you have towards nutrition, your body, and how you fuel yourself, will affect the choices you make with regards to food on a daily basis – which affects not only your physical health and performance, but also your mental health.

It is important to be intentional with your mindset when it comes to nourishing your body, and to work on having a mindset that allows you to fuel yourself in a way that is optimum of all aspects of your health. It is not having a black-and-white, “clean” or “unclean” mentality, but rather a mentality of learning and growth.

What does a growth mindset in nutrition mean, then?

Having a growth mindset in nutrition means to:

• Believe you can improve your health and performance through the daily food choices you make
• Being open to new information with regards to nutrition, and be curious to learn
• Be honest with yourself about your obstacles and weaknesses, and face them head on
• Focus on the process of becoming healthy instead of the end result
• Choose to learn the correct, science based information about nutrition rather than looking for quick-fixes. Learn well, instead of fast!
• See failure and challenges for what they are: opportunities to GROW. The only way to truly improve, wherher it is in performance or nutrition, is to try new things, and with this, failure is one of the only things that is virtually guaranteed. The highest achievers are not those who never fail, but those who try, fail, and learn new things.

Ultimately, nutrition is one of those things that may require a process of some trial-and-error. Each one of us is unique – genetically, biochemically, psychologically and spiritually. You’ll hear me say a thousand times that what works for one person, might not work for another. And sometimes the only way to find what works for your body, is to try new things – which might not work.

That is why, in order to really elevate, we need to explore, try, perhaps fail, try again, and be open to new ideas – and for that, a GROWTH MINDSET is key.