I see so much emphasis, money and time spent on appearance, physical fitness, nutrition and diet and a total lack of investment in the one thing that arguably supersedes it in terms of importance and that’s working on and investing in mental fitness and cognitive and emotional development.
One way to address this that costs nothing other than an investment in time, is mindfulness practice, which in essence is a technique that helps you sustain the intensity and longevity of your focus and more effectively leverages your cognitive and emotional resources in the present moment. Many studies over the last 40 years, show that mindfulness can improve your mental[1] and physical health[2] and ultimately increases the quality of your lifespan[3], which obviously suggests that we simply have to address the lack of time invested into it. So, what is mindfulness, the myths surrounding it, what does the evidence-base tell us and how could you be more mindful?
What is mindfulness?
Professor Ellen J. Langer, a scientist in the field for the last 40 years, suggests that to be mindful “regardless of how we get there, either through meditation or more directly by paying attention to novelty and questioning assumptions, ……is to be in the present, noticing all the wonders that we didn’t realize were right in front of us” and Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn, states that “mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally”. Put simply, mindfulness is the opposite of mindlessness, it’s when the lights are on and someone is actually at home.
The myths
Before moving on, I think it’s important to touch on some of the myths around one of the key techniques used to develop mindfulness, namely meditation, as it seems to be a major reason why people dismiss mindfulness as spiritual nonsense, so here’s a list of the key myths around mindfulness-based meditation:
- You have to be religious or spiritual to practice it – mindfulness does come in many forms, but whether you are an atheist or theist you can still practice mindfulness.
- You need the perfect place to practice – you don’t need a perfect environment, in fact you can and should practice mindfulness in any environment and in any context.
- You just don’t have the time – whether you have seconds, minutes or hours you have the time to practice mindfulness.
- You need a monk or guru to train you – as long as you can read, watch or listen you can learn mindfulness techniques quickly via professionals and experts in the field.
Bottom line, mindfulness and meditations associated specifically with it are quite simply, a form of brain training or a mental workout, that you can do pretty much anywhere (even walking), anytime that fits your agenda and for as long as your agenda permits (as little as three minutes). Like all worthy endeavours, no matter which form of meditation you choose, the more you put in, the more you get out, so practice and commitment are required, but not nearly as much as you would think.
What does the evidence-base tell us?
As discussed there are some extraordinary benefits that have been reported in studies in relation to mindfulness and they include reductions in chronic stress levels, hypertension and chronic pain[4], increases in meaning[5], working memory[6], creativity[7] and immune system function[8]. Ellen Langer in her ground breaking research (Counterclockwise) found that the elderly saw improved health, stress regulation, immunity, increases in lifespan, strength, vision, hearing and appearance. Mindfulness has also been shown to improve success levels in relationships with a correlation between mindfulness and communication between partners[9]. Another well-known technique Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) has been shown to reduce the recurrence rate in those who have suffered three or more previous episodes of major depression as effectively as antidepressant medication and better than placebo[10].
If that’s not enough to convince you, the workplace benefits are also well studied, with mindfulness shown to improve job satisfaction, workplace performance[11], work engagement, hope, optimism[12] and reduced burnout[13]. Finally, in the words of Ellen Langer “At the very highest levels of any field—Fortune 50 CEOs, the most impressive artists and musicians, the top athletes, the best teachers and mechanics—you’ll find mindful people, because that’s the only way to get there”. So, how do we become more mindful?
Being more mindful
Here are my tips for increasing your level of mindfulness:
- Practice mindful meditation – one size does not fit all, so use an approach that suits your own circumstances.
- Be curious – and practice observing your thoughts, emotions and feelings and the tastes, smells, textures, colours, sounds, and movement around you.
- Question everything – sacred cows really do make the best burgers, so don’t make assumptions about anything.
- Be present – in the only moment that you have any control and power over, this one.
- Listen – to both what is and isn’t being said by the people and the environment around you.
- S. T. O. P. – throughout the day Stop, Take a breath, Observe what’s going on internally and externally and then Play-on mindfully.
Simeon
From his 30 years’ leadership experience, Simeon truly helps others to maximise their potential. As the founder of BExceptional, he provides first class coaching and leadership development services to individuals and organisations. Among other qualifications, he holds a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology & Coaching Psychology and is a certified Strengths and Emotional Intelligence Coach.
[1] Demarzo, M. M. P., Cuijpers, P., Zabaleta-del-olmo, E., Mahtani, K. R., Vellinga, A., & Vicens, C. (2015). The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Primary Care: A Meta-Analytic Review. Annals of Family Medicine, 13(6), 573–582. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.1863.
[2] Khoury, B., Lecomte, T., Fortin, G., Masse, M., Therien, P., Bouchard, V., … & Hofmann, S. G. (2013). Mindfulness-based therapy: a comprehensive meta-analysis. Clinical psychology review, 33(6), 763-771.
[3] Fiocco, A. J., & Mallya, S. (2015). The importance of cultivating mindfulness for cognitive and emotional well-being in late life. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 20(1), 35–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587214553940
[4] Pascoe, M. C., Thompson, D. R., Jenkins, Z. M., & Ski, C. F. (2017). Mindfulness mediates the physiological markers of stress: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of psychiatric research, 95, 156-178.
[5] Littman-Ovadia, H., & Niemiec, R. M. (2016). Character strengths and mindfulness as core pathways to meaning in life. In Clinical perspectives on meaning (pp. 383-405). Springer, Cham.
[6] Jha, A. P., Stanley, E. A., Kiyonaga, A., Wong, L., & Gelfand, L. (2010). Examining the protective effects of mindfulness training on working memory capacity and affective experience. Emotion, 10(1), 54.
[7] Lebuda, I., Zabelina, D. L., & Karwowski, M. (2016). Mind full of ideas: A meta-analysis of the mindfulness–creativity link. Personality and Individual Differences, 93, 22-26.
[8] Morgan, N., Irwin, M. R., Chung, M., & Wang, C. (2014). The effects of mind-body therapies on the immune system: meta-analysis. PloS one, 9(7), e100903.
[9] Barnes, S., Brown, K. W., Krusemark, E., Campbell, W. K., & Rogge, R. D. (2007). The role of mindfulness in romantic relationship satisfaction and responses to relationship stress. Journal of marital and family therapy, 33(4), 482-500.
[10] Zindel, V. S., Williams, J. M., & Teasdal, J. D. (2013). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression. The guilford press. New York. 2Ed. ISBN, 978, 1-4625.
[11] Reb, J., Narayanan, J., & Ho, Z. W. (2015). Mindfulness at work: Antecedents and consequences of employee awareness and absent-mindedness. Mindfulness, 6(1), 111-122.
[12] Malinowski, P., & Lim, H. J. (2015). Mindfulness at work: Positive affect, hope, and optimism mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, work engagement, and well-being. Mindfulness, 6(6), 1250-1262.
[13] Roeser, R. W., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Jha, A., Cullen, M., Wallace, L., Wilensky, R., … & Harrison, J. (2013). Mindfulness training and reductions in teacher stress and burnout: Results from two randomized, waitlist-control field trials. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 787.
