The Stress Of Success?

[JonW]

I’m reading a new book curated and edited by Jon Kabat-Zinn and Mark Williams, entitled Mindfulness: Diverse Perspectives On Its Meaning, Origins & Applications.
In the thought-provoking introduction, Kabat-Zinn and Williams discuss how the uses of mindfulness-based applications have risen exponentially since the late 1990s. The authors remind us that major developments are now occurring in clinical and health psychology, cognitive therapy, neuroscience, education, the law, business etc. Then they stop to wonder whether this phenomenon carries with it a range of possible problems, what they describe as the possible “stress of success”.
They ask, “Do we need to be concerned that young professionals might be increasingly drawn to mindfulness because it may be perceived as a fashionable field in which to work? Can mindfulness be exploited or misappropriated?”
Perhaps these questions serve as a reminder to us all that we all need to be responsible where mindfulness is concerned. But how exactly? Do we behave responsibly enough when talking about mindfulness with others? How easy is it for us to get carried away with how mindfulness has benefitted our own lives, perhaps forgetting that our experiences may be unique? Are we sometimes guilty of being over-zealous about mindfulness? When we become mindful meditaters, do we carry the responsibility of being good ambassadors for the practice? If so, are we doing enough? Too much? What’s the right amount?
More importantly, what do you think?

[Gareth]

Part of the way that I built up this site and this forum was to regularly trawl Twitter for everything to do with mindfulness, following/replying to people that tweeted etc. There is an enormous amount of stuff posted on there in relation to mindfulness making you a better leader, or mindfulness in the board room.

Stuff like that makes me a little bit uncomfortable frankly. Mindfulness in the boardroom implies using mindfulness to 'get' somewhere, which we know it's not about at all. I also dislike it when mindfulness and money sit so close to close together. Mindfulness is free and available to every human being - to use it as a way of making money seems vulgar to me.

But in the end, I'm not sure that it matters how we come to mindfulness because the very practice itself is transformative and will bring about changes in the practicioner whatever their reasons for coming to mindfulness in the first place.

[FeeHutch]

I do think the best way to try and encourage others to find out about mindfulness is to show how it has worked for each of us as individuals. I totally agree that 'selling' it as some sort of product that will help you strive further or even some how manipulate others so you get what you want is totally contrary to the spirit of mindfulness.
It can be hard not to want to shout about it or try and 'convert' others because for me, it's had such a profound impact on my life. I wouldn't be mindful of others feelings if I did that though.

When I was at school and we were taken out on trips the teachers always used to say 'remember you are ambassadors for the school. People will see how you behave and think everyone at our school is like you.' I feel like I can be an ambassador for mindfulness

[JonW]

In Mindfulness for Black Dogs & Blue Days, Richard Gilpin talks about mindfulness as a path, one that is less concerned with goals and destinations and more with the style and tone of the journey. He talks about a path as something that has been cultivated, brought into being, by others who have trodden the same track before oneself. "In turn," he writes, "you maintain it for those coming behind you."
Maybe that's the answer to my questions in a nutshell.

[BioSattva]

I have a blog post about the 'Mindfulness Revolution' in the pipeline which has a great clip of an excited and over-zealous woman talking to Jon Kabat-Zinn: "I really just want to do something to push things forward" she gushes. Jon says to her that becoming excited about mindfulness is not necessary and can be counter-productive (basically that people need to calm down if they want mindfulness to be successful). He just says something along the lines that as long as everyone just practices in their quiet, calm ways, then change will take care of itself.

Coming to 'misuses' of mindfulness, I can't see how someone can practice compassion in a negative way. If there is no compassion, then there will be no progress, it seems. In the same way one's mind will not settle during formal practice if it is on amphetamines, for example, then it will not settle if it is being 'conditioned' by other strong chemicals triggered by such things as excitement or anger. Unwholesome intentions will stand in the way of any progress deemed necessary to fulfil one's unwholesome plans, because one is trying to become whole in an unwholesome way - one will end up treading water at the very least, and otherwise one's vulgar intentions will be extracted.

One can go through the motions like a mindfulness-dispensing robot, but one will not last long - it will become boring for starters, and there will be plenty of heartful people out there being talked about ready to replace one. I think people know 'heart' when they encounter it...

[Steve]

It is difficult to see how mindfulness can be used to achieve a goal when, one of the first things you learn is to not to strive for something - but maybe that's its unique point - if you were to use it to strive for financial success it may well lead you to becoming aware of your relationship with 'success', money, power or whatever and you may then look at things from a different perspective.

People come to mindfulness from all directions, some may have serious health/mental problems (depression etc) whereas others may 'just' be stressed, have relationship problems, be having a midlife crisis or just have a general lack of satisfaction with life. Whatever it is, they may well approach it by a book that relates it to their particular 'problem'. Hopefully, which ever direction they come from, they may then learn/experience that it is a way of approaching life not just a particular issue.

The book 'search inside yourself' is a good example - it comes from a business angle yet it succeeds in explaining that this is just a by product of being more mindful and becoming happier. I am still reading 'the happiness advantage' and this too, whilst seemingly based on business success, shows that 'success' (however you define or measure or simply feel this), stems from being positive and happier and thatbeing mindful is a mainstay of being able to adopt such an attitude depends on being mindful.

I've read somewhere (probably JKZ?) that maybe one day, meditating and being mindful will be seen as such a normal way of looking after your 'mind' that it will be regarded the same way that taking exercise is seen as being sensible to look after your body.

I am becoming increasingly of the view that the best way to influence others (not just on mindfulness) is simply to live or lead by example and, in most cases, being evangalistic is probably counter productive.

Steve

[BioSattva]

I am becoming increasingly of the view that the best way to influence others (not just on mindfulness) is simply to live or lead by example and, in most cases, being evangalistic is probably counter productive.

I agree. People don't trust words anymore - politicians' promises, priests' preaching, marriage contracts, etc., they've all broken down. There are no 'men of their word' anymore. The proof has to be in the pudding - in the activity - witnessing the discipline that manifests it, sensing the heart within it, communicating pleasantly with it, and eventually eating and tasting it fully.

This is partly why I am learning so many arts which have been deeply influenced by mindfulness in the past - I have a deep conviction in the formal seated mindfulness practice, and the more informal practices which come out from it, and I want to be able to engage people in different ways - as well as enjoy life, of course!

There are already huge appetites for things like TaiChi and kungfu, green tea gatherings, Chinese calligraphy and ink paintings, bamboo flute, archery, etc. When experienced with, or viewed via, MBSR, the intrigue behind, and the joy of practicing these things suddenly jumps out in technicolor. People need to see and do stuff these days, not hear and read stuff.

It's a shame the UK doesn't have more extant disciplines and activities which have an already carefully established mindfulness dimension - it has meant I have had to immerse myself in Chinese culture to enjoy traditional 'mindful' music, art and calisthenic activities. The true art of longbow has since vanished from the UK, for example - now that would have been a great mindful art to engage with at any level of competence.

[monkeymind]

I'm still a newbie, so maybe my views on mindfulness are a little underdeveloped, and even naive or romanticised. But I think that the boardroom would be a great place to find mindfulness!
There will always be a number of hungry hotshot executive wannabies that hope to 'get the edge over the next guy' using anything they can find, including mindfulness among other things. They want to climb the ladder, fast, and they'll try anything. But if they flick through the book-de-jour on mindfulness I doubt they'll get what they're looking for, and I don't think we'll see any mindfulness from them. Some of those people still make it into boardrooms though, and steer companies in all sorts of directions. Worrying!
But elsewhere we might hope to find some people genuinely trying to bring mindfulness into their lives. Bringing patient attention to the hear and now, not grasping for future personal gain or attacking themselves or others for the past. They'll be more inclined to see the bigger picture, have an uncluttered rational perspective, and hopefully even a grounded sense of compassion for others.
I like to think that the world might be a smidgeon happier if boardrooms around the world were filled with the mindful types.

[Steve]

Here.here!

Steve

[JonW]

"I've read somewhere (probably JKZ?) that maybe one day, meditating and being mindful will be seen as such a normal way of looking after your 'mind' that it will be regarded the same way that taking exercise is seen as being sensible to look after your body."

I guess that's been the case for donkey's years in eastern cultures. Seems strange that it's regarded as a kind of eccentricity in the west. Imagine the tabloid uproar if Cameron announced tomorrow that mindfulness was going to be part of the core curricula in schools...We have a Green MP in Brighton, the UK's first, but I don't see much progress on the mindfulness front.