8 Ways to Build a Growth Mindset

by thealpinepursuit | Jun 30, 2021 | Healthy Lifestyle, Personal Development

Are you ready to change your life? Does the thought of taking a huge risk, or failing to succeed stop you from trying? Well, you are not alone. However, if you are ready to take the leap, then you are going to want to build a growth mindset.

A growth mindset is a powerful tool. Your mindset will set you up for success. Understanding the need for challenge, consistency, learning, and supporting those around you is the only way.

First, you must start with how you view yourself. If you do not believe in yourself, how will others? Ultimately, the lack of belief will cause you to quit the second times get challenging.

Without immediate results it is easy to give up. However, the possession of a strong growth mindset will allow you to look past the present failures. The only focus you will have is to reach your end goals, and build your desired future.

This new mindset will put you in the right mental state, for exponential growth. Expanding your context, so that all the new content can enter your mind. You will view failures and setbacks differently. As each presents as an opportunity to further develop your skills.

Here are 8 ways to build a growth mindset. Each of these components will change your life, giving you new meaning and fulfillment.

8 Steps to a Growth Mindset

1. Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is recognizing your thoughts, beliefs, talents, and motives. Being highly aware of your strengths and weaknesses is the foundation to reach growth. Growth can only occur when you realize your starting point.

On the other hand, it is important to remain confident. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. However, being able to recognize them is the only way to become better. Self-awareness is all about being honest with yourself. The quest for self-improvement stems from first becoming aware. Ask questions and do not be afraid to fail. In fact, your journey will take time.

You must recognize areas of weakness that are holding you back from achieving your goals. For example, if you have a goal to become a better endurance athlete, but know that your weakness is snacking on junk food, than you have to fix that problem. The recognition is required before any kind of improvement can take place. It is not about putting yourself down. You must recognize areas you need to improve to reach your goals. Sooner or later you must face the problem and figure out a solution. This is the first step towards success.

2. Embrace Challenge

Challenge will build a growth mindset. The feeling of discomfort is natural when you begin to accept more challenge into your life. After all, growth will not start until you leave your comfort zone. As a result, your mind will expand past the norm. You no longer stay within your limits. The expansion causes a shift in your thinking. Although, challenges are intimidating, you begin to search for them. Each challenge is a new opportunity to expand yourself.

Being able to embrace challenges is not an easy task. Naturally, you are wired to avoid discomfort, challenge, and hard situations. However, to grow you must tackle them.

In fact, many begin to ask themselves the “what if” questions. What if I fail, or what if I have no idea what I am doing? Well, at first you should expect to feel lost and uncomfortable. That is totally normal. But that is a part of challenging yourself to start something new. The unknown and difficulty is what leads to fulfillment. Indeed, there will be times of failure, but the only way to succeed is to push past many unsuccessful attempts.

3. View Failure in a Different Manner

Failure is a part of growth. If you are looking for improvement, first you need to accept you will have plenty of failures. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid it. Thus, you need to stop being afraid.

If you never attempt, you will never succeed. Instead of worrying about failing, focus your energy and mindset on being successful. In the times you are not, just learn from the situation and push forward. The worst thing you can do is to avoid challenging situations because you are scared to fail.

Learn from your failures and look forward. Avoid missing out on the next opportunity because you are too stuck on your past failures. During your pursuit to build a growth mindset you may fail countless times, the beauty in success is that you only have to be right once. For every success, there are a large number of fails. As you learn from each failure, you get closer and closer to that one right move.

4. Set a Vision and Define Small Steps

The right path is nearly impossible when lacking an end destination. After all, how can you take small steps toward a future you have not yet defined?

A vision is an end goal. In order to set the path, you need to first know where you want to end up in the future. Next, you are able to set small goals to reach your larger vision. Success is hard to come by without a clear plan. Unfortunately, accomplishments do not just happen by chance.

Defining your vision can be an overwhelming task. Huge goals may seem scary if that is all you can see. However, if you set a bunch of smaller steps, these large goals are much more manageable. Never sell yourself short. You have the power to reach any goal you set for yourself.

As your vision should be big, small and medium size goals are what get you there. For accomplishment, you need to break down your goals. It is crucial for success. Small steps pave the way to your big vision. They provide direction, especially during times of difficulty. Additionally, completing small goals boosts your motivation and confidence throughout the process.

The secret to long-term growth is taking small, consistent actions. Define small, medium, and large goals to create the building blocks to your vision. Think about it this way. If you have no road map, it is going to be very difficult to reach your destination.

5. Focus on Learning

It is impossible to be good and understand everything. But those who want to become better know the importance of asking questions and taking the time to learn from others. The worst thing you can do is act as though you know everything. Every person, opportunity, and new situation presents a great time to learn.

You have to be a life-long learner. The day you stop learning is the day you stop growing. Learning is the foundation to build a growth mindset. Without learning, you are not growing.

The best way to build your growth mindset is to read, listen to podcasts, and meet in person with like-minded individuals. A life-changing habit is to make this a part of your daily routine. If you study and learn from others, you will likely be able to not only learn from their successes, but also avoid their mistakes. Additionally, you realize every successful person had a similar fear when they started out.

Naturally, you will always want to stay within an area of familiarity. However, this is what kills growth. Growth cannot occur without jumping into new situations. The only way to grow is to learn.

6. Find Your Inner Curiosity

Always be in search of more. Being curious allows for you to expand your context, as you are always looking for new and different perspectives. When you are curious, it changes the way you approach personal connections, new experiences, and your overall vision in life.

The desire to expand your context is the first part to becoming a life-long learner. You must be open to new possibilities. With this in mind, you are able to allow information challenging your initial beliefs into your mind. All these ideas are opportunities for growth. You will be left behind if you do not stay open and flexible to new ideas. As a matter of fact, being closed off with destroy the possibility of growth.

After all, always be open to challenging your beliefs. Curiosity is an incredible trait. Every situation should be seen from multiple angles. The curiosity to look at the world from a different perspective is just one of the many ways to build a growth mindset.

7. Be Authentic

A growth mindset is all about being real. Showcase your true self to the world. In fact, the ability to show others who you are is the best way to build trust, leading to authentic relationships.

Others deeply value your openness and honestly. Building trust with those in your life is a huge component to creating success. After all, pretending to be someone you are not will halt your efforts to build a growth mindset. Even if you reach success, it will be at the expense of many other areas of your life.

Success will only be temporary. You never want to lose the person you want to become in the process of searching for success. Success is meaningless if you do not grow into the person you want to become.

So, stay authentic. Show who you really are, so you can connect with those around you. People will respect it. You will build better relationships, and create way more success in the long run. If you are serious about creating a growth mindset, then never pretend to be something you are not.

8. Celebrate the Accomplishments of Others

When you reach a growth mindset, competition inspires you to become an improved version of yourself. One may think competition is only about being better than everyone else. However, competition is more about striving to excel when you have a growth mindset. Surrounding yourself with others that challenge you will lead to more overall growth.

Celebrating the success of others is part of a growth mindset. You enjoy to see others improve themselves. It comes down to being happy with your life. When you are focused on improving, rather than comparing yourself, you stop focusing on the unhealthy part of competition.

A fixed mindset relies on comparison. When you compare yourself to others, you start to make excuses why they are more successful, instead of celebrating their success and learning from them. This is detrimental to growth. Just like yourself, they are working hard. Be there to support one another. People appreciate others who support them and will be much more likely to support you back.

In fact, celebrating the wins of others will lead to an overall higher level of growth. A shift in thinking causes you to stop comparing and to start using your time more wisely. This leads to more growth for everyone. A growth mindset is about supporting growth for everyone around you. Always celebrate the accomplishments of others.

Creating a New Life of Adventure

For success, it is crucial to be able to analyze which areas of your life need improvement. This is the first step to taking action. If you are unable to truthfully assess your talent, you will never be able to take the steps necessary for growth. Sometimes it is hard to do yourself, so ask others in your life for their opinion to get some different perspectives. Fulfillment comes from continuous personal growth. The ability to adopt a new mindset, allows for you to think differently and expand the possibilities present in your life.

A major step in transforming yourself as an adventure athlete is to start thinking in a new manner. A growth mindset will lead to enhanced performance in all areas of your life: goal setting, meditation, nutrition, strength training, yoga, or planning for an adventure. The growth mindset sets you up to be successful.

After building a new and improved growth mindset, you must fill yourself with the motivation necessary to continuously seek improvement. An adventurous life is about constantly learning, taking risks, and seeking to expand your reality. Check out my post 7 Tips to Increase Motivation to help you with staying on track. Additionally, check out this post to level up your mindset.

13 Key Vitamins and Minerals for Health

by thealpinepursuit | Jun 23, 2021 | Healthy Lifestyle, Personal Development

Are you looking to enhance your fitness level? The 13 essential vitamins and minerals for your health have the power to transform your mental and physical performance. However, you need to consume these nutrients within your diet since your body is unable to produce them. All it takes is a few small changes. Super foods are filled with all the vitamins and minerals you needs to stay healthy. These nutrients will have you exceeding your fitness goals in no time.

The addition of the right foods into your diet is a great start. Always try to get your nutrients first from fresh whole-foods. When you have made changes to your diet, then you can try to boost your intake with some natural supplements. In fact, there are several supplements out there that can have an incredible impact. So, add these 13 essential vitamins and minerals for your health to take your performance to the next level.

The 13 Essential Vitamins and Minerals

Consuming a diet with a variety of different types of fruits, vegetables, and grains is the perfect way to get everything you need. However, it is easy to fall behind on certain nutrients if you are not paying attention. Since vitamins and minerals are needed within the body to perform a variety of functions, it is crucial to get all of the essentials.

For this reason, if you want to dominate mentally and physically, these are the best vitamins and minerals to improve your health. Make sure to add a daily dose of all these nutrients to boost your performance.

1. Vitamin A

Benefits: The benefits of vitamin A include eye protection from age-related declines, supports a healthy immune system, increases clear skin, and promotes healthy growth and reproduction. Vitamin A benefits your performance through protecting your body from free radicals as a powerful antioxidant.

Healthy Foods: The best food sources for vitamin A are carrots, sweet potatoes, cod liver oil, dark leafy greens, broccoli, whole eggs, and cantaloupe.

2. B Vitamins

Benefits: B vitamins include thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), biotin (B7), folate (B9), and cobalamin (B12). The major benefits of all the B vitamins include energy production, immune support, glucose and protein metabolism, and hemoglobin production. As shown above these nutrients contribute to tissue maintenance and protein synthesis to increase athletic performance.

Healthy Foods: These vitamins are not stored in the body for long periods. Thus, these vitamins are important to attain regularly in your diet. Healthy sources for the B vitamins include salmon, potatoes, chili peppers, dark leafy greens, eggs, beef, legumes, chicken, sunflower seeds, coffee, and milk.

3. Vitamin C

Benefits: Vitamin C is essential for immunity, iron absorption, skin elasticity, and functionality of your blood vessels. Vitamin C helps the body produce collagen. In conclusion, vitamin C is a power supply to keeping your body healthy and running smoothly.

Healthy Foods: The top food choices filled with vitamin C are oranges, kiwi, berries, grapefruits, Brussels sprouts, peppers, broccoli, and potatoes.

4. Calcium

Benefits: Calcium is responsible for the growth, maintenance, and repair of bones. In addition, calcium assists with muscle contractions, nerve conduction, blood clotting, and supporting healthy levels of testosterone. Strong bones and a healthy testosterone level are the perfect combination for improving your physical performance.

Healthy Foods: Healthy food options filled with calcium are dark leafy greens (kale or spinach), almonds, fish, and diary products.

5. Vitamin D

Benefits: Vitamin D works to increase the consumption of calcium to keep your bones strong and healthy. Overall, the combination is required for either to be effective. Additionally, vitamin D plays a role in reducing inflammation, supporting testosterone levels, and improving your mood. Vitamin D is important for your performance with reducing stress fractures and building lean muscle.

Healthy Foods: The best source of vitamin D comes from spending time in the sun. Of course, since direct sunlight in not always possible you can get it through your diet as well. Food sources include salmon, whole eggs, and mushrooms.

6. Iron

Benefits: The importance of iron includes boosting energy, muscle performance, and transportation of oxygen throughout the body. Furthermore, vitamin C assists to increase the absorption of iron. The greatest athletic benefits of iron include muscle growth, energy, and an improved cardiovascular system. Iron has a large impact on athletic performance. In fact, iron improves the function of muscles, reduces fatigue, and increases aerobic efficiency.

Healthy Foods: Red meat contains the highest amount of iron, as well as other meats like poultry and fish. Other rich iron sources include spinach, lentils, whole grains, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, broccoli, tofu, and dark chocolate.

7. Vitamin K

Benefits: Vitamin K contributes to bone health with the help of calcium and vitamin D. Additionally, vitamin K helps to reduce stiffness of blood vessels and is a factor in the blood clotting process. In fact, the versatility of vitamin K makes it a great addition to your diet for heart health, increasing bone density, and lowering your risk of cancer.

Healthy Foods: Vitamin K is found in dark leafy greens like spinach, fermented products, egg yolks, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and chicken thighs.

8. Zinc

Benefits: Zinc aids in muscle repair and growth, reduces inflammation, helps with nutrient absorption, boosts energy production, and enhances immunity. The ability to stay feeling healthy and energized with the immunity boost of zinc are great to improve your physical performance. In addition, zinc is effective with enhancing your nutrient absorption, which can be a game-changer after an intense workout. When you body works more efficiently, you are able to repair, grow, and recover at a much faster rate. Anyone looking for a boost to their recovery should focus on adding more zinc into their diet. With all the benefits, zinc will leave your body feeling more rested and ready for another training session.

Healthy Foods: Healthy food options high in zinc include whole eggs, nuts, legumes, whole-grains, dark leafy greens, and meat.

9. Selenium

Benefits: Selenium is a powerful antioxidant working to support cell health and muscle regeneration. During exercise, the harmful effect of oxidative stress causes the build-up of free radicals. Thus, selenium works to reduce the damage caused from this stress. Selenium is protection to your cells.

Healthy Foods: Healthy food sources with selenium include Brazil nuts, oysters, chia seeds, oats, brown rice, and whole eggs.

10. Magnesium

Benefits: Magnesium is great for getting quality sleep, managing stress, and essential for your metabolism. In fact, magnesium is required for the processes that produce energy within your body. If you are looking to improve your recovery, try adding more magnesium into your diet. Not to mention magnesium works well to improve your mood, prevent damage from stress, and reduce fatigue. Magnesium is crucial for both your mental and physical performance.

Healthy Foods: Healthy food choices filled with magnesium include avocados, nuts, legumes, whole grains, dark greens, seeds, and fatty fish like salmon.

11. Sodium

Benefits: Sodium is both an electrolyte and a mineral important in maintaining the balance of fluids in and out of your cells. Other health benefits include an improvement in heart performance, glucose absorption, and your nervous system. Additionally, sodium plays an important role in the regulation of muscular contractions. Strenuous exercise reduces the amount of sodium. As an athlete, you must replenish all of the sodium lost through your sweat. Sodium is responsible for increasing your fluid retention, leading to better stamina and endurance.

Healthy Foods: The top healthy foods with sodium are dairy products (cheese), pickled vegetables like cabbage, bananas, applies, table salt, smoked meats, egg yolks, homemade soups, and olives.

12. Vitamin E

Benefits: Vitamin E is important to the health of your brain, blood, skin, and eyes. Furthermore, vitamin E can be applied directly to your skin to moisturize, reduce itching, and clear up skin issues like eczema. Also, vitamin E is an antioxidant, thus protecting your body from free radicals. Free radicals are released after strenuous exercise and can cause damage if not taken care of efficiently.

Healthy Foods: The best sources of vitamin E are dark leafy greens, meats, almonds, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, peanuts, pumpkin, and fortified cereals.

13. Potassium

Benefits: Potassium is an essential electrolyte that helps to maintain fluid balance, muscle contractions, and nerve signals. The two electrolytes, sodium and potassium, work closely together to make sure the right amount of fluid is inside and outside of each of your cells. Potassium is directly responsible for the fluid inside of your cells. Additionally, potassium is a major component of conduction of nerve signals. Nerve signals play a direct role in proper muscle contractions and a regular heart beat.

Healthy Foods: The best healthy food sources for potassium are bananas, oranges, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, dark leafy greens, and beans.

In Conclusion: The Importance of Vitamins and Minerals for Health

In fact, vitamins and minerals are essential for your health. With this in mind, including these 13 vitamins and minerals in your daily diet can have a life-changing impact on your performance. A well-balanced diet can be obtained through a variety of fresh foods and natural supplements. You must work to be proactive with your approach to nutrition and athletic performance. Of course, it will be well worth your efforts for the improvement in your health.

Vitamins and minerals can make or break your mental and physical performance. In conclusion, these 13 essential vitamins and minerals provide a number of incredible benefits. For this reason you should pay close attention to the micronutrients in your diet. Certainly, the addition of all these nutrient-dense foods can boost your athletic performance to the next level. For more information, check out vitamins and minerals.

How to Drink More Water for Better Performance?

by thealpinepursuit | Jun 16, 2021 | Healthy Lifestyle, Personal Development

So, you are looking to enhance your athletic performance? When attempting to excel, you should aim to drink more water for a better performance. Drinking the right amount of water can be difficult. Typically, it is easy to become distracted throughout your day. However, supplying your body with the perfect amount of water can have a number of health benefits. In fact, water is a huge component in the success of your mental and physical performance.

Drinking the optimal amount of water does not have to be a hard task. With a few simple strategies, and understanding the difference water can make within your body, you will be on the road to building a solid foundation. Once you begin to implement these strategies, the clear difference will motivate you to continue to make your water consumption a priority.

Why Should You Drink More Water?

Water is the foundation of all your bodily functions. Without water, you are left with a poor performing body. If you are looking to improve your mental, physical, or emotional performance than making sure you drink enough water is essential. Water has the power to reduce fatigue, enhance your thinking, and push your body to new athletic levels.

The daily task of consuming enough water needs to be tackled everyday. However, once you build strong habits it becomes super easy. You will drink throughout the day without even having to think about it. The only way to perform at your best is to supply your body with the most important component. After all, the last thing you want is to ruin your performance because you did not hydrate properly.

Drink More Water to Improve Performance

Water is essential for your health. In fact, your body is made up of 60% of water. Along with water, electrolytes and nutrition play a key role in creating your top performance. But why is it so important?

The benefits of water are seen throughout a number of processes in the body. Water is important to brain function, energy, removing toxins, immunity, and regulating your temperature. The list keeps going. With this in mind, you can see why it is important to provide your body with the right amount each day.

Here are the benefits of water in your body.

Cardiovascular Health

Water works to improve the function of your heart. In fact, water is responsible for your blood volume. With the right amount, your heart is able to efficiently distribute oxygen and nutrients to all parts of your body.

Joint and Muscle Function

The prevention of injury is due to the right amount of water. Water lubricates your joints and hydrates your muscles. Each responsible for lessening the risk of problems during physical exercise. A lack of water causes your muscles and joints to become tight. If you want to improve movement, while reducing pain, than grab a glass of water.

Brain Performance

Water helps to increase focus, concentration, and memory. If you want to function at your highest level, than consistently drinking water during the day is the best path. The right amount of water has the power to reduce mental fatigue, headaches, and anxiety.

Cleanses the Body

Water plays a significant role in immunity and recovery. With the help of water, your body is able to cleanse your organs and remove harmful toxins.

All these benefits work to improve your athletic performance. Your body cannot perform without water. If you want to take you performance to the next level, take some time to work on your hydration habits.

Strategies to Drink More Water

It is hard to drink enough water. If you struggle with this problem, there are tricks to help you drink more water to change your body’s performance. Water must be consumed consistently throughout the day. Once you get behind, it is a challenge to get back on track. However, the use of a few simple strategies can make a huge difference.

• • First off, set a daily goal. If you do not have an end goal in mind, it becomes easy to loose focus. This is a great way to hold yourself accountable. Plan how much water you should consume by various times throughout the day. Additionally, you can use a tracker on your phone to remind you.

• • Second, start the day off right. Drink a large glass of water when you wake up. It is easy to become busy. Therefore, starting every day with water will put you on the track to success. Typically, try to consume 20 to 25 ounces before breakfast. Prime your body for the day.

• • Third, always carry a large water bottle with you everywhere you go. When water is constantly in front of you, you will be much more likely to drink. Just as simple as filing up a water bottle could put a delay to drinking during the day. Make hydration as convenient as possible. Always have water in front of you.

• • Lastly, the addition of flavor to add some excitement is perfect. Especially on the cold and rainy days when you do not feel like drinking. Plain water can become boring and difficult to drink. A little taste, as long as it is natural, can be extremely helpful.

How to Hydrate for an Adventure

Water is crucial for any adventure. An adventure puts a heightened need for hydration as many consist of extended periods of strenuous exercise. In fact, the best way to be ready is to already have a great foundation of daily hydration habits in place.

After implementing all these habits into your every day life, drinking enough water on an adventure is reachable. Hydration starts prior to the start of any adventure. The day before an adventure you should start to increase your water consumption. Several hours before you begin are the most important. Proper hydration is the best way to start an adventure. Otherwise, you most likely will never be able to keep up. While on the adventure you must continue to drink water. Another key point is that the feeling of thirst is a sign you are already behind with your hydration. Avoid dehydration by consistently drinking fluids during any physical activity.

Since hydration is responsible for performance, it is necessary to take all of the right steps. Use the following method to determine the right amount of water for you on every adventure.

Water Intake

Many understand the importance of consuming enough water daily. Water is crucial to health and performance. The calculation of water needed per day is dependent on several factors.

1. Weight (lbs)

2. Take your weight and multiply by 67%

3. Add 12 ounces of water per 30 minutes of exercise

Water is to be consumed before, during, and after physical activity. You lose quite a bit during exercise. Replenish lost water. Other factors affecting your hydration status include:

Location

You will need more water in hot, humid, or dry areas. Cold climates can impair your desire to hydrate.

Altitude

Higher altitudes require more water for the same hydration level.

Diet

Excess water is needed for diets high in salt or sugar. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins use water for digestions. However, some require more than others, like proteins.

Activity Level

Strenuous exercise and workouts requires far more water each day.

Health

Medical conditions impact hydration. For example, active infections need a surplus of water as the body demands are greater.

Of course, this is just a starting point. Obviously, the more intense the exercise and warmer the climate, the more water needed to maintain proper hydration. Extensive adventures will require much more water. A strong mentality is most of the battle with water consumption. Practice and you will have no trouble.

In addition, setting a hydration goal each day will provide two major benefits. First, the act of setting a goal improves the chances of being successful. Second, when you have a goal in mind you tend to plan in advance. Water is not always readily available. Planning is a requirement when adventuring in locations where water may be difficult to find.

The Key to Adventure

The key to performance is to drink more water. Avoid being dragged down with fatigue and a pounding headache. All it takes is building the right habits. You will be shocked by the difference.

As seen before, many functions within your body require the use of water. Therefore, staying hydrated is the best strategy to improving your mental and physical performance. The right amount of water daily will lead you on your path to reaching your top performance.

For all adventure athletes, water is essential to overall success. All athletes need the right amount of water when out on an adventure. For more information on all the benefits of staying hydrated, check out Healthline Nutrition.