Noticing Internal Experiences

A 2011 study in Israel revealed an unintended determinant of parole request outcomes: the hunger of the judges. Favorable rulings dropped from 65% to nearly zero when the presiding judge reported feeling peckish and returned to 65% after he or she ate.

Psychologist Daniel Goleman defines self-awareness as the ability to recognize your emotions and how they affect your behavior. We call it your superpower.

And mindfulness is the power tool that can help you build it.

Mindfulness stretches the pause between a trigger and your response, giving your brain just enough time to recognize what might be driving a reaction. “Oh wait, I’m hungry and not thinking clearly. I should wait to make a decision until after I’ve had something to eat.”

It’s a little window of tolerance that allows us to respond rather than react to emotionally charged or challenging situations.

Practice

In mindfulness practice, we talk about the “flashlight of attention,” a term used by Dr. Amishi Jha, author of Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day. Imagine that you have control of a beam of light, and your attention goes wherever you point it. This body scan exercise uses awareness of physical sensations to direct the attention.