You have probably heard of mindfulness. What does it really mean? How can it help? What benefits can it give you? In what circumstances is mindfulness worth doing? Are there enough situations in which mindfulness helps to be worth taking the time to master it? If so, what does mastery look like? What steps can you take to master mindfulness to improve your well-being?

For many people, “mindfulness” is a relatively new concept. Indeed, the word is relatively modern; it was created by Professor Thomas William Rhys Davids in 1881 for his translation of the Pali term “sati”, a key concept in Buddhist teaching, which refers to having present-moment awareness and attention.

You may be reassured to know that even though the word is new, the practice of mindfulness is as tried and tested as is possible. 

Here is more on its Buddhist roots

Mindfulness is associated with Vipassana meditation. Vipassana involves observing one’s mind and body without any judgement. That clarity, that presence, is sought to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of reality. Mindfulness is one of the eight limbs of the ‘Noble Eightfold Path’ to achieving enlightenment in Buddhism. 

Buddha encapsulated the long-term benefits of mindfulness thus: “Watch your thoughts. They become your words. Watch your words. They become your actions. Watch your actions. They become your habits. Watch your habits. They become your character. Watch your character. It becomes your destiny.” 

Mindfulness has even earlier Hindu Roots

While most people think of yoga as being about flexibility-based physical postures, it also has a strong mental component. The Vedanta philosophy emphasises the importance of self-awareness as a necessary path to understand the nature of reality. Meditation and pranayama (breathing exercises) are a key part of yoga and very similar to concepts of modern-day mindfulness. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, one of the most enduring works on yoga, states, “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.”

Taoist influence on modern mindfulness

The Taoist concept of “wu wei,” meaning “non-doing”, seems very similar to mindfulness. Wu wei advocates letting go of constant striving and simply being present in the moment. Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, summarises it with typical enigmatic wisdom: “Do nothing, yet nothing remains undone.”

Throughout its history, mindfulness, under its huge number of synonyms, has been central to almost every spiritual and philosophical practice as a means of finding inner peace, self-awareness, and well-being. 

As mindfulness has become better known in the West, it has been gradually adopted in education and healthcare. 

For any method to be widely adopted, it usually has to provide substantial benefit and solve a painful problem. Although we will never know, it seems highly likely that mindfulness was developed as a technique, millennia ago, to help people who seemed more prone to suffering the kinds of problems that we would now label as anxiety, depression, hopelessness, and low self-esteem. stress-related disorders, burnout, phobias, insomnia… Perhaps the ancients who conceived of and taught mindfulness were among the first mental health healers. 

How can mindfulness help?

Practising mindfulness, as opposed to merely knowing of the concept, the research body demonstrates, can help in several ways. 

If you want to reduce your levels of stress or anxiety, improve your concentration, increase your self-awareness, improve your relationship, and enhance your overall well-being, learning to practice mindfulness is worth it. 

What steps can you take to start being more mindful?

First of all, accept that mastery of mindfulness is something that even the experts are still working towards, and that each bit of progress enhances your well-being.

Realistic mindfulness doesn’t mean being completely free of stress or negative emotions. It means developing a greater awareness of your thoughts and feelings in the present moment and improving your ability to respond to them in a healthy, empowered, and constructive way.

Steps to develop mindfulness

• Choose a peaceful, safe environment where you won’t be disturbed.
• Pay attention to your breathing. Notice how it feels and sounds as you breathe in and out. 
• Once you are attending to the present moment, observe your thoughts and feelings without judgement. 
• Note what it feels like to be in the here and now. 
• Recall what techniques worked best for you to put your mind in the here and now.
• In different situations and contexts, as you go about your day, your weeks, your months, and your years, take yourself into the here and now. After some practice you will be able to centre yourself in the present moment almost instantly. Let your skill develop; don’t force progress. 
• Share your journey with others on the same path. You could find a group, in-person or online, to share your journey towards mastering mindfulness. 

What does mastery look like?

Mastery of mindfulness, or close to it, doesn’t mean being completely free of stress or negative emotions. It means having a greater awareness of your thoughts and feelings in the present moment and the ability to respond to them in healthy and constructive ways.

Mindfulness can and will improve your mental and emotional well-being. As you know, almost everything that brings benefits faces obstacles. Here are some of the challenges and barriers to mastering mindfulness

While mindfulness can be a powerful tool for improving mental and emotional well-being, it’s important to recognise that it’s not without its challenges. Here are some common problems and barriers that people encounter when trying to master mindfulness and how to overcome them:

• Managing our racing thoughts. Our constant mind chatter can remove us from the present moment. Observe it as you would an interesting animal. “Oh, there it goes again. It seems to like the noise it makes.” Calmly be aware of it, and decide not to engage with it. That inner part of you that observes the workings of your mind can eventually choose when the chatter starts and stops. 
• Judgement and self-criticism. While self-criticism is useful for learning, constant self-flagellation can only do us harm. Become aware of the harm that self-criticism does to you. That is a victory of mindfulness.
• Impatience. Be patient with yourself; remember that every worthwhile skill takes time to acquire. Accept that every master was once a disaster.
• Distractions. With so many distractions around us, becoming mindful is a challenge. In your mind, note every distraction; observe what effect each one has on you. That is being mindful. In other words, use the distractions as triggers for self-awareness.
• Feeling overwhelmed. Beginning to sense the gulf between your current mindset and the level of peace of advanced practitioners can be overwhelming. They, too, experienced that when they started. Observe your sense of overwhelm; become fully aware of it. That is, in itself, being mindful.
• Lack of support. Most of us are more motivated and perform better, when we have supportive others around us, on the same journey. Find or create a support network to help with your mastery of mindfulness.
• Resisting change. Most people are more comfortable with change that they have chosen or that they initiate. You have followed this article thus far because you have made the choice to learn about mindfulness.

Professor Nigel MacLennan runs the performance coaching practice PsyPerform.