The Importance of a growth mindset

Over the last few years, I’ve been on my own strength and fitness journey here at The Golden Life Project. I showed up wanting to get stronger, move better and feel more confident in my body. What I didn’t expect was that one day I’d be invited to step onto the coaching floor.

And boy do I love it! Becoming a coach has stretched me in so many new ways and it has taught me so, so much. But it hasn’t been all rainbows and butterflies. I’ve bumped my nose once or twice. And I will continue to do so. Because learning something new takes time - and failure. One of my favorite sayings is “you learn more from failing than you do from success.” You just have to treat each failure as another opportunity to learn and try again. 

A Growth Mindset Changes Everything

At the heart of learning something new is one powerful idea: a growth mindset.

A growth mindset says:

• Skills can be developed.

• Mistakes are information.

• Feedback is fuel.

• Effort matters.

It’s the opposite of believing you either “have it” or you don’t.

When I first started coaching, it would have been easy to think, Maybe I’m just not cut out for this after a tough class or an awkward moment. But a growth mindset reframes that entirely: I’m not there yet.

That one simple word. The power of yet keeps you in the game.

Learning Is Messy (And That’s Normal)

When you’re new at something, there’s often an unspoken internal expectation that you should pick it up quickly. That you should look confident. That you shouldn’t mess up.

Some days I leave a class feeling energized and proud. Other days I replay moments in my head wondering how I could have communicated something more clearly. There are highs and lows. Wins and awkward reps. Moments where it clicks and moments where it absolutely doesn’t.

Progress isn’t about perfection. It’s about consistency over time.

Feedback Is a Gift (Especially the Last 5%)

One of the biggest growth accelerators for me has been feedback and learning not just to receive it, but to actively ask for it.

There’s a concept called “5% feedback.” The idea is that when someone gives you feedback, they usually share about 95% of what they’re thinking. The final 5%? They often hold back because it may feel uncomfortable to say.

And that 5% is usually the gold.

It’s the blind spot. The hard truth. The thing that helps you level up.

If we truly operate from a growth mindset, we don’t just tolerate feedback, we invite it. We create space for honesty. We get curious instead of defensive. We understand that discomfort and growth often travel together.

Trust Your Gut

Another lesson coaching has reinforced for me: if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

Maybe it’s a cue that didn’t land. Maybe it’s the energy in the room. Maybe it’s your own internal voice nudging you.

A growth mindset doesn’t ignore those signals, it gets curious about them. Instead of brushing it off, I pause and ask:

• What did I notice?

• Why did that feel off?

• What could I adjust?

And if I’m unsure I ask someone I trust what they saw or experienced. Reflection plus outside perspective builds awareness and awareness builds better decisions.

Vulnerability Is Strength

The final lesson, and maybe the most important, is not being afraid to be vulnerable. Coaches are human. We miss things. We misread situations. We make mistakes. Owning those moments doesn’t weaken credibility, it strengthens it.

Saying, “I could have handled that better,” or “Thank you for that feedback,” reinforces that growth is ongoing. It models what we ask of everyone who walks through the GLP doors: show up, try, learn, adjust.

That’s growth mindset in action.

Learning something new is uncomfortable. It asks you to risk being seen as inexperienced. It requires patience, humility, and resilience. But it also builds confidence in a deeper way than instant success ever could.

Whether you’re learning to lift heavier, dial in your nutrition, try a new class, step into a leadership role or simply commit to showing up more consistently, I ask you to remember this:

You don’t have to get it right.
You just have to keep showing up.

With a growth mindset, every rep (even the messy ones) counts.

And that’s where the magic happens.