“Allow yourself to be proud of yourself and all the progress you’ve made. Especially the progress no one else can see.” -Tinybuddha.com

Mindfulness has been one of those huge buzz words that has been circling around the internet gaining momentum but beyond the hype it is incredibly important. Nobody is saying to go climb to the top of a mountain and meditate to the sunrise (but hey if that works for you go for), it is more of a call to be present in the moment. Too often we allow ourselves to be caught in the rat race of life, we are athletes and used to a fast pace but make sure to take some time to slow down.

Slow down even if just for a moment and take in the moment around you, it is a place in time you will never get back and never see again. Be grounded and thankful for the time and blessings around you. Acknowledge the problems you face and find a way to work through them. Reach out to others but most importantly remember who you are and the events that have shaped you to who you will become.

I have had panic attacks since I was a kid all through high school and college, I was able to suppress those feelings of panic and channel it into my sport. When that was gone, I felt lost, a drift in a mind that could only see the next thing that would go wrong. We had a sports psychologist come in and speak with our team that provided a new perspective for me. He told us that the only way to succeed in a moment is to allow yourself to be totally present. He had us all sign our name on a piece of paper, simple enough right? As we sit there confused and the simplicity of the task, he looks at us and asks us to trace over our signature. What was once a simple task became painstakingly slower and less accurate.

Instead of simply being in the moment where it flowed freely, we were trying to recreate a moment that had passed. Taking this a step further it helped me to realize that by staying grounded in the moment I am more likely to achieve the outcome I was stressing about anyway. If I don’t it isn’t a loss it is a lesson I move on to the next time. I saw a quote from Inky Johnson that really resonated with me, I realized I had thrown away experiences that didn’t work out in my favor. That experience was a lesson that will serve me down the line.

I started looking up different studies and videos on how to learn and help myself. Between the articles written and the YouTube videos out there, I found a wealth of information. Find what you can do to fit your lifestyle and implement it in small steps. There are studies that show that simple mindfulness meditation can be used as a factor to help gain more control of oneself in a moment of stress. For those of use that are living busy lives we may not have 2 hours to sit down in a quiet room and recite a mantra, that’s fine. Find 30-seconds here and there, there are so many quick meditation techniques out there. There is no reason to hold yourself back take a step today. I want you to take at least 30 seconds at some point in your day and ground yourself in a moment. Walk through a quick mindfulness exercise in your mind and see how it can help you realign your day.