The Adaptive Mindset: The Quiet Superpower

Mindset plays an enormous role in our successes and our setbacks. It can determine whether we allow a failure to define us—or to shape us into something stronger. Two equally intelligent people can attempt the same challenge and walk away with very different outcomes, all because of mindset.

Carol Dweck’s work on the growth mindset showed us the power of reframing “I can’t” into “I can’t yet.” While first applied to education, the implications extend far beyond the classroom. A growth mindset helps us believe we can develop new skills, change patterns, and grow through effort.

Today I want to highlight another mindset that when paired with a growth mindset, makes us remarkably resilient: the adaptive mindset.

What Is the Adaptive Mindset?

The adaptive mindset is our ability to adjust to change. It’s flexibility with purpose. It’s how we continue to move forward, even when circumstances shift.

Business often gets used to illustrate adaptation (hello, Netflix vs. Blockbuster). But the principle applies just as powerfully to health and wellness.

Our environment today, from our food system, to our technology, to our daily pace, looks dramatically different than it did just 50 years ago. Just take a look at this snapshot view of the change to our food in the last 50 years. Some changes are helpful; many are not. What matters most is how well we adapt to these shifts, and whether that adaptation supports or sabotages our well-being.

Where People Get Stuck: Consistency Meets Real Life

Motivation gets us started, and adaptation keeps us consistent.

We’ve all experienced it. You commit to a new routine, maybe it’s movement, sleep, or nutrition, fuelled by motivation and a clear plan. And then life happens. A kid gets sick. Your schedule changes. You’re exhausted. The car breaks down. Dinner out replaces dinner in.

In these moments, many people fall into the trap of all-or-nothing thinking.

But consistency is not built by perfection. It’s built by adaptability.

You may not have an hour for the gym today, but twenty minutes still matters. You may not be able to eat exactly the way you envisioned on vacation or during work travel, but you can still make choices aligned with your goals. Adaptation keeps you connected to your commitment with a flexible approach.

Recently, I’ve had to practice this myself. I’ve been dealing with a flare-up of sciatica that made some of my usual workouts,especially squats,uncomfortable. I don’t even like squatting, but the idea of not doing it made the workouts feel incomplete, as if skipping them meant the workouts didn’t count. For a moment, I caught myself thinking, “Maybe I should just take a full break until this is better.”

But that’s the all-or-nothing mindset talking.

Instead, I sat down and identified the movements I could do without aggravating anything, and I lowered the intensity. I gave myself permission to adjust instead of abandon. And you know what? It worked. I’m making solid progress. I’m not 100% yet, but I feel better and I haven’t shut the door on fitness. I’ve simply changed how I’m approaching it while my body heals. Because I’m in this for the long game.

Adaptation in a Challenging Environment

I recently finished Food Intelligence by Julia Belluz and Kevin Hall, PhD, and it reinforced how many aspects of our food environment are outside individual control. Highly palatable, inexpensive, energy-dense foods are everywhere. Not to mention our jobs are increasingly sedentary and yet our pace is faster than ever.

System-level change is needed, but it’s slow.

So the question becomes: How can you adapt in the environment you’re actually living in?
How can you make small, consistent adjustments that keep you moving in a positive direction?

Because wellness is not a fixed destination. It evolves as life evolves.
And adaptation isn’t optional—it’s a necessary skill, and when practiced, a superpower.

Pair a growth mindset with an adaptive mindset and you’re no longer dependent on perfect conditions—you’re capable of progress in real conditions. This is how long-term habits take root. This is how you stay committed to your decisions and flexible in your approach.