Seeing a sports psychologist has become a very normal part of Olympic preparation. We now recognise athletes need more than finely tuned muscles. To perform at their peak they also need to be able to deal effectively with their emotions and maintain focus under pressure. Properly preparing the mind simply makes sense.
So why is so little psychological support provided in other jobs?
Chances are your role may be far more complex and demanding than having to hurl a javelin or run down a track. You might have to deal with demanding customers, ridiculous deadlines or an unreasonable boss. Make a mistake and the consequence may be far serious than coming home with a slightly disappointing bronze.
Many ordinary jobs can place extraordinary pressures on people. Whether you work in a call centre, a kitchen or a kindergarten, you are almost certain to experience difficult thoughts, uncomfortable emotions and times of high stress. Unlike an Olympic athlete you probably won’t be trained to deal with it all.
In developing Mindarma we’ve aimed to make the psychological skills used by Olympic athletes accessible to people working in all those highly demanding, yet far less glamorous jobs. After all, mindfulness is not just for highly paid professional athletes. It can be learnt by anyone and when practised regularly it can deliver some very valuable benefits.
We believe everyone deserves a Mind Coach. While most workers don’t expect shiny medals or rapturous applause, they should expect psychological support. Our aim is to equip all sorts of workers with important psychological skills, so they can cope through difficult times and bounce back more effectively.
This Olympics we’d like to lend our support to all the athletes… and all the bus drivers, and all the people selling ice cream in the stands. In fact, wherever you’re working over the next two weeks, we’ll be cheering you on!