What is mindfulness and how can it be used to help you achieve what you want? There are a couple questions I want you to ask yourself. First, when someone says that they want to be more mindful what do you imagine? When you say you want to be more mindful, what do you mean?

Mindfulness can mean a couple different things depending on who you are talking to. Some would picture mindfulness as a monk sitting lotus style chanting to himself. Sitting and meditating is a great form of mindfulness which allows an individual to help calm themselves down and focus on what needs to be done. It is a great way to ignore all distractions. Not that this is wrong, but that also isn’t the only means of mindfulness. Another form of mindfulness though would be one in which a person focuses on what they need to get done and how they will get it done. In sports this could be viewed as visualization. A player sitting down prior to a match to focus on what they need to do and how they are going to do it. It could a player sitting down with their eyes closed and music playing prior to a match to get into the right head space. Mindfulness could also take the form of a person losing their sense of self and thinking more about the common goal. What is best for everyone and not just me?

Whatever form of mindfulness you choose just remember, mindfulness is a means to help a person look within. Introspective examination to see what needs to get done. Whether that is something for the community, something for the team, or something for themselves. Mindfulness will allow an individual to ignore all distractions and get down to business.