Mindfulness -- What Is It?

In this article, I attempt to increase understanding of the ubiquitous word mindfulness. It seems there are a lot more training opportunities in mindfulness than just a few years ago. I suggest that mindfulness has been around a long time and it's a great tool for a professional. A quick search gives the following definition from OXFORD:

"The quality or state of being conscious..." is a good definition, however, I think the current trend of training in mindfulness is more about the second definition, which includes focus on the "present moment."

With a 20-year daily mindfulness practice, I am still trying to get the "present moment" thing down. Mindfulness, however, comes in handy on the job. Mindfulness supports, for example, situational awareness, a key trait of high reliability organizations. One who is mindful can detach and observe weak signals of trouble across the organization or system. For example, multiple components simultaneously experiencing soft failures might indicate the approach of a critical system-wide incident. A mindful manager might notice and interpret those weak signals earlier than one who is lost in thought.

In my training as an applied behavioral scientist, I observed myself and others in the midst of anxiety. My cohort engaged with each other in an anxiety-producing laboratory environment. Coming to understand my great capacity for reactivity, I learned that mindfulness can promote a sense of calm that enables the brain to continue functioning when its interpretation of information and events is threatening to cause an overload.

As an information technologist, I have had moments when I was pretty anxious about a change, a problem, or a customer needing help. I think mindfulness training has helped me to remain productive when things appear dicey. One method I use is to become aware of my body and or my breathing. Somehow that contact with a known physical sense (e.g., the rising and falling of the belly while breathing) enables me to slow things down mentally.

Besides these practical ways that mindfulness can make one more effective, it can be really pleasant! With difficulty, my mindfulness practice took me to a place where simply following my breath can be very enjoyable.

So there it is, a brief attempt at clarifying mindfulness. I hope you found this helpful! Comments appreciated.