Lead 101: What is a “Neutral” Mindset?
Have you ever been feeling down and someone told you to “just be positive”? While they mean well, sometimes this statement can be frustrating, especially when you’re struggling something that is extremely personal to you, like your athletic performance. Having a positive outlook can be a great tool to keep in mind, but we have to be careful of something called “toxic positivity.” Toxic positivity disregards all difficult emotions in favor of a cheerful (and often falsely-positive) attitude. This means that when you’re struggling with something really difficult, you might tell yourself “Everything’s fine, I’m feeling great, why would I be sad or frustrated right now?” even when things are absolutely not fine and you feel terrible.
Instead, some situations call for more of what we call a “neutral mindset”. Instead of trying to avoid negative emotions, you look at the situation objectively. By looking at the scenario as simply a data point, you have the opportunity to learn from the mistake you made, rather than turning a blind eye and pretending everything is “fine”.
Here’s an example: You just finished a race and you added time. You didn’t feel great in the water and you went out way too fast so you died at the end of the race.
Negative Mindset: “That was a terrible race, I’m never going to get better so what’s the point in trying again.”
Positive Mindset: “That race didn’t go well but I don’t care! Everything’s fine, let’s just pretend like it didn't happen.”
Neutral Mindset “That race didn’t go as well as I thought it would and I am a little disappointed, but now I know what to do better next time. I felt sore, so I think I need more warm-up and cool-down in between races next time. Since I went out a little too fast, so this week at practice I should do some more pace-work.”
Do you see the difference? With a neutral mindset, you accept and validate your feelings AND you are able to step back and reflect on how to use this as a learning experience. This type of thinking won’t become automatic overnight, give yourself some time to practice and it will start coming to you more naturally.
- Avery, Lead Intern 💜
