Key 1: Use Mindfulness to Engage and Sharpen Focus
Key Points:
1. Mindfulness is the act of being aware and immersed in the present moment in a non-judgemental way. In other words, it is the act of directed attention to the “here” and the “now”.
2. Mindfulness meditation is a useful practice that can be applied to almost anyone, ranging from those dealing with addiction, ADHD, or depression, to elite athletes looking for a competitive edge.
3. Mindfulness activates the “experiential network”, where the brain is attentive and present, while deactivating the “default mode network”, where the brain often wanders.
“For there is never anything but the present, and if one cannot live there, one cannot live anywhere.”
Mindfulness training is a powerful step on the path to increased focus. Mindfulness is an awareness of the world around you in the here and now, and it has two main components: 1) attention to the present, and 2) acceptance and non-judgment. It’s a practice whereby any time you notice your mind wandering, you bring it back to the task at hand and the current moment in time. Simply: “Be Here. Now.”
This approach was popularized by Jon Kabat-Zinn, who was the lead in translating Buddhist mind training into secular contexts. He described mindfulness as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.” There is no good or bad. You are practicing living in the moment and controlling your attention.
There has been some confusion and overlap between mindfulness and meditation. Consider mindfulness as a practice of becoming aware of your mind, emotions, and behaviour, and mindfulness meditation (one of the many forms of meditation available to us) as a particular technique to help you improve your ability to control your attention and choose your mindset. Just as weight training is a program that helps to build strength so you can move heavy objects at will, mindfulness meditation builds the mental muscles required to attend to and adaptively interpret life’s experiences.
The scientific interest in mindfulness has surged, which is great because it is helping the practice become more accepted in the West.
In 2011, Professor Sara Lazar and her team at Harvard University published data that showed how 8 weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) meditation resulted in an increase in the cortical thickness of the hippocampus (which modulates learning and memory) and a decrease in the volume of the amygdala (a structure in the brain that regulates fear, anxiety, and stress). These changes likely explain why mindfulness meditation improves outcomes for people with anxiety.
Mindfulness training has also been shown to be helpful for people struggling with addictions and eating disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), recurrent depression, and severe mental illnesses, among many other conditions. Recently, the attitudinal qualities of mindfulness training were credited for driving many of the benefits related to increasing resilience.
On the other end of the health spectrum, mindfulness is now becoming standard practice for progressive athletes and coaches to enhance human performance. Athletes are finding mindfulness and meditation training helpful for improving their ability to focus and control their attention; reduce anxiety, stress, and burnout; as well as enhance their ability to enter into flow states.
The changes that practicing mindfulness elicits in the brain—decreased activation of what is known as the “default mode network” and an increase in the activation of the “experiential network”—are quite amazing. You experience this when your mind wanders and then realize you are daydreaming and bring your attention back into the here and now—that’s the shift from the default mode network in your brain to the experiential network. With practice and consistency, other networks in the brain related to attentional control become more active and strengthened. These are the alerting, orienting, and executive control networks, all of which are critical for mental performance.
A mindfulness protocol to enhance focus and attention
My colleague and dear friend Dr. Ellen Choi, Assistant Professor at the Ryerson University School of Business, recommends getting started by practicing present moment awareness.
Take a few minutes to do nothing but observe what’s happening. Stop and notice your thoughts and feelings. What are you touching and how does it feel (cold, warm, hot, smooth, rough, soft, hard)? What can you see in terms of shape, colour, texture, distance, closeness? What sounds are close by and further away, and can you identify them all? What smells are in the air (your cologne, a cup of coffee, someone’s lunch)? What taste do you have in your mouth (sweet, sour, metallic, bitter)? What do you feel in your chest, stomach, or hands (tightness, heat, sweat)?
Then choose an anchor—any point of focus that connects you to the present. Your anchor may be your breath, or body sensations like the feeling of your feet on the floor, or the temperature of your hands. It could also be a mantra you’re repeating in your mind, or even something in front of you that you can lock your gaze on. Set your anchor and return to it anytime your mind wanders.
Practice paying attention to your anchor for a few moments each day and you will develop your ability to stay present, develop focus, connect to your body, and learn to control your attention.
Today’s Call to Action: Time Shifts - I have Seconds to Recharge
Refer again to the Time Shifts on page 17 in your Rest, Refocus, Recharge Workbook. Have you tried out any of those techniques if you have a few seconds to recharge? If any of those work for you, or if you have other techniques that work, write them down in the Notes section on page 18 of the Rest, Refocus, Recharge Workbook.
Today’s Bonus Video
Check out this talk by John Kabat-Zinn, the creator of MSBR, on the Power of Mindfulness
The information and advice provided in this program is intended to assist you with improving your performance, as well as your general health. It is not intended and should not be used in place of advice from your own physician or for treatment or diagnosis of any specific health issue. By participating in this program you acknowledge that undertaking any new health, diet and/or exercise regime involves certain inherent risks, that you assume such risks, and that you release Wells Performance Inc. from any responsibility or claim relating to such participation.