It’s All About Where Your Mind’s At

It is widely known that Michael Jordan, the greatest NBA basketball player of all-time, had a devoted mindfulness practice influenced by Phil Jackson and George Mumford.

“Michael is a mystic. He was never anywhere else. His gift wasn’t that he could jump high, run fast, shoot a basketball. His gift was that he was completely present.” – from the documentary The Last Dance.

How did Michael do it? And how can you can learn to block out distractions and focus completely on the present moment in competition?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, said, “Your mind is what makes everything else work.”

Student athletes face many unique challenges: managing their health and safety, their own expectations and those of others, parent-coach conflict, training time, financial burdens, and scheduling, to name a few. Student athletes prefer a mind that is confident, focused, and mentally tough, rather than one that is anxious, distracted, and out of control. However, at one time or another, all
athletes feel like they didn’t perform their best. Perhaps their minds or bodies felt off, or distractions made it hard to focus. This is where being a mindful athlete can help you. Mindfulness is about being more aware of your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and the external environment in the present moment—and making better-informed choices about what you’ll do. Mindful athletes can find improved awareness of their minds and bodies, allowing for control and power over their choices.

Read “The Mindful Athlete – Secrets to Pure Performance” by George Mumford forward by Phil Jackson.