Story Time – Mindfulness for Jocks

Let’s start with some common reasons and misunderstandings of Meditation and Mindfulness.

❌It’s NOT stopping your thoughts. Your mind is ALWAYS going to produce thoughts, much like your stomach produces acid.

❌It’s NOT going to help you lose your edge. Michael Jordan, the best basketball player ever (and some would argue the best ever athlete) had a mindfulness coach.* Who’s going to perform better? The athlete that has the mental strength to focus on the task at hand, or the one thinking about her salary, her partner, her family, the media, etc?

❌It’s NOT hippie shit. What we mean by this is is that it’s close your eyes and hope unicorns save the day. It’s well researched way of improving mood and concentration.

Why Mindfulness?

It can be a mental break. We’re bombarded with thoughts and messages all day. Five minutes down time can give you some space and mental clarity.

‍♀️You become aware of your thoughts. They may or may not be true. You can then chose if you’re going to believe them and how you’re going to act on them.

‍♀️One way to look at the thoughts, once you become aware of them, is to ask “Is this useful?”

Finally, you ARE going to lose concentration. You ARE going to start thinking weird random thoughts. But every time you do catch yourself thinking… THAT is meditation. A little bicep curl for the brain.

But How?

You can just set a timer on your phone for 5 minutes and sit. Nothing else required.

Headspace has a free 10 day trial, with guided meditations.

Stop, Breathe, Think has a free version. This app asks you to ‘check in’ with your thoughts and feelings and give you a recommendation based on your answers.

10% Happier – Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics. In this app’s guided meditations, Dan asks his teachers questions in a preview video before they bring you on a guided meditation. This is the app I use daily.

Calm – The App Seanie uses for before focusing his attention on lifting impossible weights.

*George Mumford, you should look him up. He’s a cool guy.

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