What does Mindfulness even mean and why does it matter?

You’ve read it on social media, you’ve heard it in ads, you’ve downloaded the apps, you’ve taken the classes, you’ve sat in the seminars, you’ve read the books. “Mindfulness” is the new “all-natural” in the sense that it’s been watered down to a buzzword that nobody really knows what it means or what it’s worth. So let’s talk a little about it and how it can really help us.

Mindfulness can be categorized most simply into 3 overarching facets;

• Intention

• Attention

• Attitude/mindset

Intention - Working towards the purposeful pursuit of paying attention to what is happening right now at this moment (particularly in conversations and/or relationships with people or information/media/content). 

Attention - Paying attention to those feelings and thoughts as they are happening and avoiding judgment of them (feeling X way about a certain thing as good/bad etc.).

Attitude/mindset - How do I perceive this moment and my feelings and thoughts towards/about it? (When I judge a thing as good or bad, does that make me feel better or worse about that thing?)

Example minus mindfulness;

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…

• Intention - I want to learn more information about how I can train for my aesthetic goals. I do a google search of “best workouts for muscle building”.

• Attention - My search returns mostly pictures of 1/2 naked ripped guys on the pages of muscle magazines as well as phrases like “the best exercise you’re not doing” and “do this not this”. I immediately feel overwhelmed and so far away from this level of competence/expertise. 

• Mindset/attitude - This confirms my current feelings that I need to be fit to get started training, and so it keeps me where I am right now and I continue to avoid getting started/making changes.

This is just one example of how this might pan out, obviously, there are countless scenarios where something else is possible. I just went with this one because this is a story I have heard many times from potential trainees.

How cool would it be if…

Example plus mindfulness;

• Intention - I want to learn more information about how I can train for my aesthetic goals. I do a google search of “best workouts for muscle building”.

• Attention - My search returns mostly pictures of 1/2 naked ripped guys on the pages of muscle magazines as well as phrases like “the best exercise you’re not doing” and “do this not this”. I start to pay attention to the information as a separate entity to me and not a reflection of me as a person. I read on and find out more.

• Mindset/attitude - I create and use a lens of “what themes in these articles can help me get started appropriately”? I continue reading and decide upon a program I read that is said to be “ideal for those new to the gym”. I am ok with being a beginner because we all have to do something for the first time. I print the program (bootleg from the office) as read-only (no pictures) to help me stay in this mindset/avoid comparison/judgment. I get started the day after.

Mindfulness allows us to pay attention to what is happening right now, how we are feeling about it, and what we are thinking/perceiving about what this means to us, not about us. It allows us to take time to let information exist without adding our own opinions/judgment to it. By doing this, we can develop a response to it with tact and inline without values, rather than a reaction based on social norms/expectations of others.

All this to say, we’ve all got out things. For example, I’m an extroverted introvert with ADD and a fear of being judged as not good enough. It is what it is. And what doesn’t help me is my perception and development of a fixed mindset around these things. 

If I’ve learned anything personally from the last 2-3 years, it’s that I am me. Not others’ perceptions of me. Not my perception of others’ perception of me, and not someone that I think others need me to be for them.

New Year’s resolutions are typical in fitness and nutrition.

Resolutions for our “health” are likely less common, and aiming for increased mindfulness is in my opinion, a great option when thinking about self-improvement AND will help us in our fitness/nutrition pursuits.

Wins all round.