Core Process: The Power of Now

Improvement largely falls into one of four categories:

• Skill
• Strategy
• Physicality
• Psychology - effort, focus, leadership, resilience

Study classic works. Examine highlights from The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. 

1. Be in the moment. That's also known as "playing present" or "being here now." 

2. Why it makes sense. "The past is nothing more than all present moments that have gone by, and the future is just the collection of present moments waiting to arrive."

3. Apply stoic philosophy. Pain is how we experience what we can't change. Past wins can't solve our 'now' need. 

Learn from key passages:

• "The more you are focused on time — past and future — the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is."
• "Stress is caused by being “here” but wanting to be “there”, or being in the present but wanting to be in the future."
• "Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally."
• "The moment you realize you are not present, you are present."
• "The mind creates an obsession with the future as an escape from the unsatisfactory present."

To be present, give people your full attention. 

Mindfulness is a great tool to improve focus and attention. Studies of mindfulness training in early elementary school-aged children showed improvement in focus and behavior. 

Lagniappe (something extra). Coaches seek edges. Mindfulness creates an edge in most professional and Olympic athletes. Why not you?