Growth mindset has been a hot topic in recent years. For those who have not yet come across the term, in a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work - brains and talent are just the starting point.

So, if you are an athlete, a coach, parent, club leader or volunteer you can become an even better version of yourself through learning about growth mindset.

To help you do so we are delighted to welcome Jamie McBrearty, Mindset Manager, Leisure and Culture Dundee, who will be speaking at our Changing the Future weekend on 20th and 21st January at the Sportscotland National Sports Training Centre in Largs.

Jamie will give a key note speech “An Introduction to Growth Mindset” and a workshop on “Growth Mindset in Practice.”

“There’s a whole nature versus nurture debate but there’s too much evidence now to suggest that it comes down to how much you want it,” says Jamie, an elite performance coach for 20 years, who is employed full time with the Education Department in Dundee to help imbed growth mindset into schools.

“Yes, people will have the ability to take up activities with much more ease than others because of previous experiences. But to get to the top, to be the best, you need to understand it comes down to practice, perseverance and having resilience to bounce back when things do get difficult.

“Whether that’s in your role as a coach, as an athlete, a club leader, or whatever your volunteer capacity is, if you believe that you can improve, then that’s what growth mindset is in its simplest form.”

For athletes and coaches in particular, the growth mindset approach should be a breath of fresh air in its shift of the emphasis from the end goal to the process itself.

“It’s about stripping things back to the bare bones of continually working and persevering and focussing on improvement, so that the results will take care of themselves,” explains Jamie.

“It takes away the pressure of saying ‘we are looking for podium or a particular result’ and shifts it back to the process and the strategies and also utilises failure and set-backs as learning opportunities. Packaging all that together will allow anybody to improve.”

Our Changing the Future weekend will comprise two days of keynote talks and workshops. There will be dinner in the evening celebrating rowing in Scotland which will include the presentation of the Scottish Rowing Annual Awards. This will be followed by a ceilidh.