We’ve all heard of mindset, but do you know how to use yours to your advantage? When it comes to singing, performing, public speaking and all those things that require you to stand up in front of an audience, it’s your mindset that helps you get there.
But you cannot work on your mindset for performing and singing if you haven’t yet addressed your mindset in your everyday life. Think of it like trying to build a house without a foundation. Sooner or later it’s going to come crashing down because there’s no support underneath it!
But, what is mindset and why is it important to train it?
Mindset is basically the thoughts and beliefs that you hold about yourself and the world. And when we use these thoughts and beliefs, which is literally all the time, they get stronger and stronger the more we use them.
So, it stands to reason that a positive mindset can help us achieve our goals, overcome challenges, and live a happier and more fulfilled life. A negative mindset, on the other hand, can hold us back and prevent us from reaching our full potential. A neutral mindset can allow you to live in the moment, accept the status quo and not attach any feeling to it.
Now, mindset training is literally taking those thoughts and beliefs that you hold about yourself and the world and making them work for you instead of against you. How many times have you thought “I’m not good enough” and then you didn’t get the job you wanted, or you tanked the audition? But then another day when you get up, you feel on top of the world! So you get the job, and the audition and have a great day, too.
What we really want to achieve with mindset training is the ability to modify our thought processes, allowing the negative to be redirected towards the neutral or positive. And the more we train, the better we get at it, meaning when the negative strikes, we can quickly change it to something that is more useful for us. What we don’t want is to get rid of the negative - because without it, the positive wouldn’t exist, either!
The main problem I see in performers who are struggling is the inability or unwillingness to change their negative mindset to something neutral or positive. And yes, most of the time it comes down to a choice! You can choose whether you allow yourself to change your mindset or not - or in other words, cultivate a growth mindset.
Fixed vs Growth Mindset
Have you heard of a fixed or growth mindset? It’s essentially the description of whether you allow yourself to change your mind on fundamental beliefs or not.
Things like “The world is corrupt” or “I’m not good enough” or “I can achieve anything!” are examples of fixed beliefs. And there they stay, having been either taught to us from outside influences, or by our life experiences giving us the proof we need to believe these statements.
If a belief is fixed and unshakeable even in the face of definite proof to the opposite, that is the definition of a fixed mindset.
A growth mindset starts by interrupting these beliefs with proof of the opposite being true, and allowing that interruption to kindle your curiosity.
Let’s say you hold the belief of “I am not good enough.” And then you are presented with proof of a hundred instances where you were more than good enough. It is now your choice to accept this evidence, and file it away in your mind as proof against this belief. So the next time you think “I am not good enough” you have a file of mental evidence to disprove it. It can take a few tries to change the belief completely, but the moment you allow it to be shaken, you are starting to use a growth mindset.
One of the biggest questions I get asked is “can a growth mindset be taught?” and I say yes, absolutely! The first step is allowing yourself to change. And that can be a scary thing, but you can absolutely learn a growth mindset at any stage of your life!
In fact, the belief that you can improve and learn new things, regardless of your current abilities, is crucial for achieving success. It means that you can focus on learning new skills, take risks, and embrace failure as an opportunity to grow.
How to train mindset for singers and performers
The first step in training your mindset is to become aware of your thoughts and beliefs. That means paying attention to the things you tell yourself and noticing if they are positive, negative or neutral. Once you have a better understanding of your thoughts, you can start to challenge and change any negative or limiting beliefs you may have. Then you need to practise it every single day in order to build the resilience of a growth mindset.
This is the very definition of simple steps that may not always be easy, but steps that are crucial to your development. If you have the growth mindset, it is easier to challenge yourself, to push out of your comfort zone and take risks. All of these things are a basic requirement for singers and performers - in order to get better, you need to move out of your comfort zone. It’s as simple as that!
Your Ultimate Guide to Mindset Training is here
Remember, training your mindset is a lifelong journey that requires dedication and commitment. Your mind is a muscle, and it needs to be exercised and trained daily. Try these techniques out and let me know how you get on. I know that you will feel differently if you try just one of them, but to use all of them will really supercharge your mindset training.
Commit to the next 28 days of using these techniques and see what happens to your mindset. Let me know which ones are useful to you!
