We hear a lot how we need to include mindfulness in our daily lives. But we don’t hear much about how to improve mindfulness in basketball. Whether you are a player, coach, parent, or trainer, everyone should practice mindfulness to improve their performance and overall life.

Mindfulness is one of the core principles that 90 Percent Hoops is built on. In both my personal and professional life, I strive to practice mindfulness every day and continue to work towards being a more mindful individual. Mindfulness has almost become a buzzword, a word that just gets tossed around with vague meaning and little understanding on how reach a more mindful state.

The definition of mindfulness

There are a thousand different definitions and interpretations of what mindfulness is. Most of what I have heard about mindfulness centers around focusing on the present, listening to yourself, or being able to feel a strong appreciation for your life and what’s going on around you. Mindfulness is all about being present in the moment, appreciating where you are and what you have, viewing yourself objectively and in a non-judgmental way, raising your level of consciousness, and being able to control your thoughts.

The practice of mindfulness will make it easier to get into the practice of visualization, something that can directly lead to confidence. Developing mindfulness happens the same way you would develop a skill or any characteristic you want. There has to be consistency, intentionality, and patience.

The state of mindfulness is a result of daily attempts at mindfulness. There will be days where you are unable to lock into the moment, or don’t feel a raised level of consciousness around yourself, but if you just attempt to do so then you are still making progress.

Putting mindfulness into practice

Starting to be more mindful should begin with an intention. Ask yourself “what do I want out of this.” In other words, why do you want to be more mindful? What will you gain from it? Finding reasons to be more mindful and then doing it every day is a great way to stay motivated and committed to mindfulness. It could be that you want to reduce stress, anxiety, pressure, or just want to appreciate life more. Throughout all of this, you need to stay patient and not rush the results.

Now that you have a basic understanding of what mindfulness is, there are many simple ways to practice mindfulness.

• Reflection: Taking time to think about where you are, where you have come from, and where you are going. Reflection helps you catch up with your own life, readjust your direction, be present in the moment, and see yourself from an objective point of view.
• Meditation: I personally do not meditate, but I know many people who use meditation in their daily lives and have seen great results. Being able to shut off the noise in the mind, sit in silence/stillness, and focus on your breath or a single intention can be a very healthy practice.
• Journaling: This is a very simply technique that has made significant strides in my life. Journaling is as simple as writing down your thoughts. Write down any thought, idea, or concept that you want to remember. It can be something for you to look back on when you need it. It also allows us to track our thoughts and see how our thoughts change or stay the same over time. We can forget something just as quickly as we think of it. Writing down our thoughts allows us to go back and revisit them and remember the state of mind we were in when we thought of them.
• Spending time in nature: Nothing provides greater feelings of stillness, calmness, and quiet like nature does. It allows us to step out of our element, absorb the fresh air, and be completely distraction free. It could be something as simple as sitting outside for a few minutes or going on a walk.
• Listening to music: Music allows your mind to be transcended to incredible places. It allows us to feel things we cannot feel without it. Music helps put our minds at ease.

What we can get out of mindfulness

Those are just a few of the ways that we can include mindfulness in our everyday lives. The ultimate goal of mindfulness is to help you be more present in the moment, always have control of your thoughts, and see yourself from various perspectives without judgement. Mindfulness also has many unintended benefits such as:

• Seeing the future implications of your thoughts, actions, and habits.
• Understanding how what you do affects others.
• Makes personal development and self-care a priority.
• Better understanding of yourself and where you fit in the world.
• Being able to separate your past from your present and present from future.
• Understand that no progress leads to no results.
• Create a sense of urgency, knowing you will die someday.

Mindfulness in basketball

I have outlined what mindfulness is and how we can include it in our daily lives. But how does mindfulness relate to basketball?

Mindfulness can have a great impact on performance. Just look at what I have already discussed. If players can be more present in the moment, they aren’t distracted by what they did in the last game, who they play in the next game, what will happen if they make a mistake, etc. Thinking too much can have an adverse impact when playing. The best players and coaches go out and perform with a clear mind.

Winning in basketball is done one by taking possession at a time. When players are present and fully focused, they can be all in on the possession at hand. This helps players adapt, knowing that each moment is a new opportunity. Adaptability leads to resiliency. A resilient mindset is something all players need to have to find success.

Another important part of mindfulness is that it helps us see ourselves from different perspectives. When we have a strong performance, it has the tendency to inflate our ego. When we have a poor performance, we tend to take it personally and attach it to our identity. Doing this negatively affects our entire view of happiness. When we attach who we are with what we do, we make the mistake of thinking that our happiness comes from winning. It makes us think that losing means we have to be depressed and frustrated.

“The key is to maintain an evenness. Try to play one possession at a time, regardless of what happened on the last possession.” – Brad Stevens

Mindfulness in basketball:  Dealing with adversity

Mindfulness allows you to reach a heightened sense of awareness around your consciousness, which increases your self-awareness. Self-awareness is something all players need to have. When you know yourself, you know how much you can endure. This allows you continually extend your limits.

Mindfulness has been proven to extend our threshold of pain and willingness to deal with strenuous training circumstances. We know that in order to get better, we have to face difficulty and get through hard situations. Mindfulness allows us to accept rather than run away from challenging and adverse situations. Mindfulness helps players be more comfortable in unfamiliar and uncertain game like situations.

One common setback that many athletes and coaches face is overthinking. Sometimes we force things instead of letting them come to us. It could also be overthinking a performance, trying to avoid every possible problem and mistake that could arise. Mindfulness allows us to trust our instincts and training. It reduces mind rumination, meaning that our minds don’t go to a place of worst possible outcome. The less rumination the easier it is for our mind to recover from the highs and lows, cope with struggle, along with arousal regulation (not responding to an impulse,) as well as motor control skills.

Mindfulness in basketball: Staying in control

Great players don’t overreact to the moment. They stay focused on growth and reaching their long-term vision. One of the key benefits that mindfulness provides is being able to be fully aware of the moment/present. If you have missed your last 3 shots, frustration can easily settle into our minds. That frustration can cause us to get flustered which can throw us off our game. Mindfulness allows us to feel the moment, yet not approve or judge it negatively.

No player wants to miss 3 shots in a row, but that is part of the game. If we let those misses impact our emotions, now we may not be able to recover. Soon 3 missed shots can turn into 6 missed shots, turnovers, and lapses in focus. We have to be able to want to improve where we are without getting down on ourselves. Adverse circumstances often lead to negative thoughts and emotions. Something we must avoid in the midst of competition. Mindfulness allows us to keep our mental composure.

Mindfulness in summary

Whether it’s mindfulness in basketball or life in general, it can produce many positive benefits. Simply finding time to sit in silence or finding something to be grateful for can positively impact our state of mindfulness. Consistent mindfulness helps players reach a state of flow, reduce fear, and produce fewer task-irrelevant thoughts. This allows players to get in “the zone,” stay focused on what they need to do, and be unafraid of what the outcome can be.

Another big part of mindfulness is gaining awareness around your state of mind. It is very simple and can make a big difference in your life. When you feel you at your best, it could be either personal or professional, take a moment to observe your state of mind. What thoughts are running through your mind? What emotions do you feel? How much sleep did you get? What was your approach? What circumstances contributed to this feeling? Asking and answering these questions will allow you to do a better job of putting yourself in a position to be at your best.

Mindfulness practice should be included in each player development session, practice, or game. Go back and reflect on your state of mind. It is good for players to be constantly evaluating their performances, especially from the mental perspective. Just like film study is done, players should review how they did mentally in each practice and game.

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