A One-Minute Explanation of Mindfulness for Coaches and Athletes
PCA National Advisory Board Member Dacher Keltner is a Psychology Professor and the Director of the Greater Good Science Center (@GreaterGoodSC) at UC-Berkeley. Keltner is most famous in the sports world for his study on NBA teams, when he identified a link between positive, supportive ‘touching’ (such as high-fives) and success on the court. Keltner is also a published author, most recently publishing The Power Paradox.
In this one minute, Keltner explains what mindfulness is and how coaches and athletes can use it. When athletes and coaches thoughtfully embrace "how things are" rather than "how they should be", they are being mindful of reality. For instance, if a negative thought or feeling passes through your mind, you can be mindful of that thought without necessarily reacting to it. Mindfulness means treating that as a sensation and being aware of those feelings without letting that sensation or negative thought control you. To Keltner, when you're mindful, you can transcend the condition of nervousness or anxiety.
