It’s Monday – Happy Monday. Started the day at the gym and while on the treadmill watched a recap of the weekend’s sports. Congratulations Rory McIlroy for capturing his second straight major title, fourth in his career. So proud of him. He positively represents the Irish grit, just as he positively practices mindfulness.
This ESPN interview with Rory highlights his wisdom beyond his 25 years. He talked about the importance of a strong, clear mindset.
He was at the 10th hole, down by 3. His game was ugly. Then he became mindful – he needed to trust in what he was doing. In the end he learned this Major win could be “ugly”. His playing wasn’t beautiful, still to success he needed to hang in there, be mentally strong and get the job done.
Whenever I get my head right, I have clear thoughts and able to make good decisions on the golf course … I don’t get ahead of myself, and that’s when I play my best.
What’s the take away?
To counter balance our crazy lives – emails, family obligations, Ironman training, building a business – being mindful is like giving a massage to our tight schedule.
Want to give mindfulness a try? Here are three steps I learned from Chris Lowney, who went from being a Jesuit seminarian to a managing director at JP Morgan. He suggests applying this technique in the middle of our day and again at the end of the day for a quick mental “check-in”.
First, remind yourself why you are grateful as a human being.
Second, lift your horizon for a moment. Call to mind some crucial personal objective, or your deepest sense of purpose, or the values you stand for.
Third, mentally review the last few hours and extract some insight that might help in the next few hours. If you were agitated, what was going on inside you? If you were distracted and unproductive, why?
Always Tri. Never stop.
Annemarie