Mindfulness or mindlessness?

[stefanovic]

I meet people who tell me about how they practice the recent craze of mindfulness, but nobody as yet who like me have too short an attention span practice the alternative.
Mindfulness is concentrating purely on what you are doing, but mindlessness is letting your mind just wander.
The first seems to have come from Buddhism, but as it's hard work to concentrate I prefer the second.
In relation to golf: How Mindfulness Could Help Your Golf Game with Dr Joseph Parent (golfsciencelab.com)

What are your mindful thoughts on this?

 

[chrisd]

I'm not minded to bother !

 

[Doon frae Troon]

To perform well at golf you have to concentrate on the now.
Dreaming of winning the cup or greeting about a missed putt four holes ago does not work.

Must confess to a couple of times when I was totally 'in the zone' when playing in an important competition.
I felt that I was unbeatable and whatever shot I played would end up good.
I won both events
Nice feeling, pity it only happened a couple of times.
I have won a few other events in my time but generally never really felt that I deserved to win them.

I had a reputation of being a lucky golfer and it would probably be fair to say I lived up to my reputation.
One k/o club championship there was about six players in the club whom I would probably end up losing to.
They were all drawn in the same half of the draw and I coasted to the final which I won at the 19th after my opponent missed a tiddler at the last.
I was walking forward to concede and some sort of strange force told me he would miss it.
The 19th was the first time that I was actually in front during the match.

 

[SocketRocket]

I meet people who tell me about how they practice the recent craze of mindfulness, but nobody as yet who like me have too short an attention span practice the alternative.
Mindfulness is concentrating purely on what you are doing, but mindlessness is letting your mind just wander.
The first seems to have come from Buddhism, but as it's hard work to concentrate I prefer the second.
In relation to golf: How Mindfulness Could Help Your Golf Game with Dr Joseph Parent (golfsciencelab.com)

What are your mindful thoughts on this?

I would suggest 'Mindfulness' is having a concern or regard for ones actions and 'Mindlessness' would be a lack of concern or regard.

I guess that much of our consciousness is pretty neutral in that we are on autopilot and as such not being mindful or mindless. I would suggest that the two precepts only become active when we are carrying out an action that has either a considered outcome or a random one.

Mindlessness is also used to describe a mindful action that is designed to create a destructive outcome. Which is an incorrect use as the destructive action was the result of a mindful intent.

?

 

[Voyager EMH]

In order to get my mind something like "in the zone" that DfT describes, I think these thoughts as I approach the first tee for a competition round.
"I am where I most want to be, doing what I most want to be doing. Whatever the outcome today, I am very fortunate now and I will go home being very fortunate."
Then I try to play good golf and show proper courtesy to playing partners.

 

[jim8flog]

I only worry about if I can get my mind over matter.

I have tried teleporting for years, only seems to work when I am asleep and it seems to have an auto return built in.

 

[toyboy54]

I only worry about if I can get my mind over matter.

I have tried teleporting for years, only seems to work when I am asleep and it seems to have an auto return built in.

Depends where you go,AND-if you want to ( or have to? ) come back??

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I use mindfulness to help focus my mind when it would otherwise be subject to distractions from what I am doing or negative thoughts that might undermine my ability to achieve my main objective. So often use it on golf course.

Mindlessness? As said a first boss of mine to me when I interrupted him in his office sitting in a dwam...’Somtimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits’

Btw...dwam...a pretty spot on Scots word for it.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

When I was having a good round and felt the pressure building to complete and not mess it up, I used to say to myself that I did not have to do anything different.
Just stay calm and do 'more of the same'.
Usually worked for me.

 

[stefanovic]

Where I find confusion is that both of these mental aids appear to come from Buddhism.

Buddhist mindfulness: We sit, we walk, we eat, we play.
Buddhist mindlessness: We leave the mind blank, but beware of outside negative thoughts.

I'm a fan of John Parkin and his **** it books (available in Waterstone's) which goes into great detail on this.

In relation to golf there is the possibility of telepathy from an opponent, which these days has advanced a little from its pseudoscientific past.
https://www.insidescience.org/video/telepathy-real

In my view you need to know when to switch one to the other and then back.

 

[RichA]

I'd never heard of mindfulness until my wife had a session on it during a training day at her work. She described it to me.
Unless I'm missing something, isn't it just not getting bogged down with crap that doesn't matter and maybe getting yourself a relaxing hobby?

... but giving it a name and charging companies £1000 to spend 4 hours describing it to a room full of bored employees.

 

[RichA]

... and breathing. You have to tell them to remember to breath.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Makes you wonder why all the world's top golfers are not Buddhist.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

... and breathing. You have to tell them to remember to breath.

They are already all on anti-anxiety medication??

 

[stefanovic]

Makes you wonder why all the world's top golfers are not Buddhist.

For a start there's https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703465204575208270307899864

 

[BiMGuy]

I think the way people play and practice golf makes a huge difference to our ability to shoot a good score.

I read time and time again on here, and on the course people refer to having a card in their hand. Or its a medal, comp round, off the whites and so on.

You're immediately putting pressure on yourself to perform differently. Or expecting to have a bad round or blow up hole. You've almost talked yourself into it before starting. Then you take risky miracle shots that you have a tiny % of pulling off. And when you do cock it up it becomes affirmation for the 'I can't play a medal/off the whites'

There is a school of thought in psychology that suggests many people subconsciously (and in some cases consciously) self destruct so they have an excuse for not performing well or winning. Its something that is particularly evident with some of my young football team.

My FiL will shoot an easy 85 on a random Tuesday afternoon playing a Stableford. But, come Saturday in the monthly medal. He'll struggle to break 100.

Having played a sport where if you didn't practice with the same focus and intensity as you would use playing a match. I've learned to take that into golf.

I give every shot the same respect, whether out on my own with 5 clubs or playing in the club championship. And try to shoot the best score I can. I try to pick shots that allow me to be aggressive with my swing, but will minimise the consequences of a bad swing. Of course this doesn't always work. But it's about being positive and accepting the outcome, whatever that might be.

Another key thing it to be able to block out distractions and switch on and off when needed.

 

[toyboy54]

[QUOTE="BiMGuy
Another key thing it to be able to block out distractions and switch on and off when needed.[/QUOTE]

Would love to do so, but, sometimes brain is busy with random thoughts ( and I must say 'a lot of inconsequentials that seem to jump in and out )
Busy place my brain-but not sure if anything is actually achieved

 

[BiMGuy]

[QUOTE="BiMGuy
Another key thing it to be able to block out distractions and switch on and off when needed.

Would love to do so, but, sometimes brain is busy with random thoughts ( and I must say 'a lot of inconsequentials that seem to jump in and out )
Busy place my brain-but not sure if anything is actually achieved[/QUOTE]

I know that feeling. I don't get distracted by people talking or moving when I'm hitting. But my brain will suddenly decide it wants to think about something entirely random when standing over the ball. ?

 

[toyboy54]

Would love to do so, but, sometimes brain is busy with random thoughts ( and I must say 'a lot of inconsequentials that seem to jump in and out )
Busy place my brain-but not sure if anything is actually achieved

I know that feeling. I don't get distracted by people talking or moving when I'm hitting. But my brain will suddenly decide it wants to think about something entirely random when standing over the ball. ?[/QUOTE]

Not just that but walking between shots ( not the whole walk-just parts of--how effective is the vaccine/schoolkids education and exams/cancer waiting lists and on and on )
Bloody frustrating at times-not saying that it's like voices ( anything but ) just flit in and out-try not to get annoyed with the process and makepeace with the thought that we all do this ( or aa facsimile of ) so no point in brooding, just accept and move on?!!
What does concern me is ''drifting'' when driving- thankfully I do very short distances and I seem able to control any intrusions

 

[Ethan]

Not exactly mindfulness, but those interested in such matters might also be interested in this: Local Knowledge podcast