A Simple Way to Think About Mindfulness

Mindfulness seems to be everywhere in our current society, and with good reason; an analysis of many studies evaluating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions has shown positive impacts on those who participate (Enkema et. al., 2020). Specifically, mindfulness-based interventions have shown to be “effective for improving many biopsychosocial conditions, including depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, addiction, psychosis, pain, hypertension, weight control, cancer-related symptoms and prosocial behaviours” (Zhang et. al., 2021). 

But it’s important to consider what mindfulness actually means, and how we can incorporate it into our daily lives in a practical sense. Mindfulness, not to be confused with meditation, can simply be thought of as noticing. Langerian mindfulness - a theory of mindfulness created by Dr. Ellen Langer, professor of Psychology at Harvard University - can be defined as “the process of paying attention on purpose to the present moment, of being aware of novelty in experiences or situations, and of perceiving differences in contexts and events” (Pagnini et al., 2018). When we perform tasks - especially ones we do every day such as making our morning coffee, doing laundry, or cooking dinner - it is almost in our nature to go on autopilot. We are rarely mindful throughout these daily, routine tasks, and instead our minds wander away to the future, the past, or anything but the present moment. While it is natural human behavior for our minds to wander away from the present moment, treating a task as if it is the first time we are doing it (for example, being open, curious, and thoughtful in how we approach it) will result in enjoying that task far more, and can even lead to improved performance (Harvard Business Review, 2014).

Dr. Ellen Langer reminds us that life is essentially a collection of moments, and by making each one meaningful, we can enrich our lives. In her words, “Life consists only of moments, nothing more than that. So if you make the moment matter, it all matters. You can be mindful, you can be mindless. So when you’re doing anything, be mindful, notice new things, make it meaningful to you, and you’ll prosper” (Harvard Business Review, 2014). 

References:

Enkema, M. C., McClain, L., Bird, E. R., Halvorson, M. A., & Larimer, M. E. (2020). Associations between

mindfulness and mental health outcomes: A systematic review of ecological momentary assessment research. Mindfulness, 11(11), 2455–2469. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01442-2

Harvard Business Review. (2014, March). Mindfulness in the Age of Complexity. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/03/mindfulness-in-the-age-of-complexity

Pagnini, F., Bercovitz, K. E., & Phillips, D. (2018). Langerian mindfulness, quality of life, and psychological symptoms in a sample of Italian students. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 16(29). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-018-0856-4

Zhang, D., Lee, E. K. P., Mak, E. C. W., Ho, C. Y., & Wong, S. Y. S. (2021). Mindfulness-based 

interventions: an overall review. British medical bulletin, 138(1), 41–57.

https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldab005