THE MINDSET OF A CHAMPION: STAYING ON TOP

• By: Louis Ochiel
• Date: October 13, 2022

Character is what allows you to reach the top and stay there. Darryl Strawberry, Mike Tyson and Martina Hingis reached the top, but they didn't stay there. Isn't that because they had all kinds of personal problems and injuries? Yes, but so have many other champions. Ben Hogan was hit by a bus and was physically destroyed, but he made it back to the top.

"I believe ability can get you to the top," says coach John Wooden, "but it takes character to keep you there... It's so easy to... begin thinking you can just 'turn it on' automatically, without proper preparation. It takes real character to keep working as hard or even harder once you're there. When you read about an athlete or a team that wins over and over, remind yourself, 'More than ability, they have character.'

Let's take an even deeper look at what character means, and how the growth mindset creates it. Stuart Biddle and his colleagues measured adolescents' and young adults' mindset about athletic ability. Those with the fixed mindset were the people who believed that: "You have a certain level of ability in sports and you cannot really do much to change that level." "To be good at sports, you need to be naturally gifted."

In contrast people with the growth mindset agreed that: "How good you are at sports will ALWAYS improve if you work harder at it." "To be successful in sports, you need to learn techniques and skills and practice them regularly."

Those with the growth mindset were the ones who showed the most character or heart. They were the ones who had the minds of champions.