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Clear Mind, Strong Leader: How Meditation can Transform your Leadership.
If you are like me, you are incredibly busy during the season.
I always have a long to-do list that never seems to get shorter. I often wake up with things on my mind that need to be done today, I go to bed thinking about what I need to do tomorrow, and sometimes wake up in the middle thinking about what needed to be done last week.
My mind is often racing. It is not so much stress, I am just really busy. (That is my story, and I am sticking to it)
This is most definitely the monkey mind at work.
If you are like me, you are jumping from one thing to the next without finishing it. Being distracted by your phone (why are all those mansions on Instagram reels abandoned?) and not being 100% present in any one aspect of your life.
You want to show up fully for your team, with a clear vision, be calm under pressure, and have the capacity to inspire and lead. But let’s be honest, the coaching grind is real.
Early mornings and Late nights, decisions are stacked on distractions, performance pressure and emotional exhaustion.
It’s no wonder coaches silently carry stress, mental fatigue, and even burnout. I know that I am running on fumes when the playoffs arrive.
At the moment, you need to be your best; exhaustion and decision fatigue are running the show.
If you are like me, you turn to your old friend, coffee, to help power through. That only compounds the problem, costing you precious sleep.
You’re committed to making your athletes better. But here’s a tough question. What are you doing to make your mind better? How can you handle the grind of the season and improve your performance in practices and games?
Coaching Demands a Lot of Your Mind
You make hundreds of decisions in a single game. You juggle relationships, egos, game plans, and expectations under high stakes. Add in the off-court duties; team culture, parent communication, administration, and it’s no wonder that cognitive overload, emotional fatigue, and stress are constant companions.
That's before we even consider life away from coaching, relationships, family, parenting, and all the other really important parts of your life that require attention and energy
When your mind is scattered, everything suffers.
Focus fades. Reactions become emotional instead of intentional. Your ability to communicate slips. You miss key details, disconnect from players, or allow a bad call to derail your mindset.
That’s not because you’re not good at your job. It’s because your attention system is overloaded and, like any muscle, it needs training.
Meditation Is a Powerful Performance Tool for Coaches
A great deal of attention is paid to athletes who have utilized meditation. The media loves it.
Every week during the Michigan Wolverines' run to the NCAA Football Championship in 2023, ESPN loved to show J.J. McCarthy sitting at the base of the uprights meditating and preparing for the game. We have all seen Lebron breathing and meditating in the minutes before a big game. It is becoming more common practice for athletes.
The same media attention has not yet highlighted coaches' utilizing mindfulness, but I know many regularly practice it.
Mindfulness and meditation are ideally suited for coaches and our busy lives.
Mindfulness and meditation are not a fluffy wellness trend, but a research-backed, brain-enhancing tool that elite performers and military leaders alike are turning to.
Dr. Amishi Jha, a neuroscientist at the University of Miami, has dedicated her career to studying attention and the brain under stress.
Her research is clear.
Mindfulness practices, especially consistent meditation, significantly improve focus, working memory, and emotional regulation.
In her groundbreaking work with military personnel, athletes, and first responders, Dr. Jha found that just 12 minutes of mindfulness practice a day was enough to protect against mental decline under pressure and enhance performance in high-stakes environments.
She puts it plainly:
“Mindfulness is mental fitness training.”
Coaches are constantly looking for an edge. Breaking down film, developing game plans, or searching for the zone play that scores every time. What if the answer to developing the competitive advantage you seek only took 5-10 minutes a day?
Train Your Mind Like You Train Your Team
Here’s how meditation strengthens you from the inside out:
1. Improved Focus Under Pressure
Attention is a limited resource, and distractions are everywhere.
During the game, the crowd noise, player emotions, officiating, technical adjustments, and bench management demand your focus.
Is your attention on the aspect of the game that will help your team the most?
Compounding the problem, the monkey mind will often take your attention away from the game.
Meditation trains your brain to stay with the task, recognize when your mind drifts, and return to what matters.
Dr. Jha’s studies with collegiate athletes show that mindfulness training improves sustained attention and resilience after errors, key ingredients for in-game coaching clarity.
2. Better Emotional Regulation
Let’s be real: emotions run hot in competition. Meditation helps you recognize your internal state without allowing emotions to hijack it.
You develop the pause between stimulus and response.
Rather than reacting to a bad call or a player’s mistake with frustration, you gain the skill to respond with intention, clarity and the ability to choose the next best action.
3. Resilience Against Burnout
Chronic stress doesn’t just wear you down physically, it narrows your perspective. Coaches under pressure often feel isolated, stuck, or overwhelmed.
Mindfulness practice lowers stress hormones, decreases rumination, and builds mental flexibility. It allows you to bounce back quicker from losses, setbacks, or tough conversations.
I am a ruminator; thoughts, emotions and events get stuck on the hamster wheel in my head. Not just in my world as a coach, but across my life.
Mindfulness (plus regular visits with my therapist) has helped combat this. When I am committed to spending 10 minutes a day meditating, my mind is much calmer and quieter.
I am a better coach and a happier person
Meditation combats burnout by quieting the monkey mind and focusing on a single thing at a time. This reduces stress and combats burnout.
It is much easier to be present when regularly meditating.
4. Being Present
Great coaching isn’t just X's and O's, it’s connection.
When you’re present with your athletes, they feel it. They can also tell when you are distracted. The best teams are deeply connected and committed to forming strong relationships. Ample research confirms it is a performance multiplier.
More importantly, if your athletes can tell you are distracted, so can your friends and family.
Meditation strengthens this skill. It teaches you to tune in to the moment, listen with intent, and live from a place of clarity instead of chaos.
Being present isn’t a soft skill. It’s a superpower.
“Mindfulness isn’t about zoning out—it’s about tuning in.”
The Risk of Inaction
The truth is, most of us don’t train our minds. We grind. We tough it out and wait for the off-season to “recover.”
But the mental game doesn’t wait.
The cost of neglecting your own mind shows up in your team’s culture, your ability to lead, your marriage, your parenting and your own well-being.
It is time to prioritize your self-care so you can be your best for all of the people in your life.
Meditation is not Easy
Like all mental skills, meditation requires practice.
The first few times I meditated, I could not believe how hard it was to keep my mind quiet. I looked at my timer, and a grand total of two and a half minutes had passed.
I was blown away by how hard it was.
Despite regular practice, this has not really changed. I have grown better at accepting it. Some days my mind races, and I work hard to focus on my breath. Other days it is a bit easier. It is never easy.
Regardless, my mind is clearer after meditating. It is a lot like lifting weights; I feel good even when my workout wasn't the best.
Like any other part of self-care, it is easy to skip it. I know my life is better when I meditate, so I have made sure it's one of the first things I do when I wake up.
Where to Start
Here are some great resources to get you started on the path of meditation.
Books
Mindfulness: An eight-week plan to finding peace in a frantic world.- Dr. Mark Williams
This is a great book and a wonderful introduction to the world of meditation and how you benefit from it. It introduces a wide variety of different types of meditation and provides links to guided meditations by Dr. Williams.
Peak Mind: Find your focus, Own your attention- Dr. Amshi Jha
I have recommended this book many times before, as I believe her breakdown of focus and attention is really important for coaches to understand. It also provides a 12-week mindfulness course.
Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Pure Performance- George Mumford
Mumford was both Kobe and MJ's mindfulness coach. He has worked with all of Phil Jackson's teams. This book is a great book to use with your athletes as well. It explores the impact meditation has had on his life and the performance of his athletes.
Apps
Insight Timer- There is a free version of this app that houses millions of meditations and has a custom timer to allow you to customize your meditation.
People to follow
Chad McGehee - Chad is the Director of Mindfulness for the University of Wisconsin and is a good follow on Social Media. He also runs a summer retreat for coaches if you are in the Midwest
Jon Giesbrecht- Jon is the Mindfulness coach of the Fraser Valley Bandits in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. He used to coach high school bball and has a great handle on the challenges facing coaches.
George Mumford- As I mentioned above. George is one of the masters of the Mindfulness movement. His website has lots of information.
Let me know how Meditation has impacted your coaching. If you haven't tried, let me know how it goes.
How can I help you on your coaching journey?
Let's work together.
I help coaches thrive.
I would love to help you or your team build a competitive advantage. Here are a few ways I can help:
- Consult with your team or coaching staff
- Teach mental skills to your team via Zoom
- Work 1 on 1 with coaches
- Work 1 on 1 with athletes
Shoot me an email at jasonpayne@evolutionmpc.com, I love to talk coaching and see how I can help you.
Coaching is hard, let's make it easier.
Check out my website at http://jasonpayne.ca
Thanks for reading and have a great week.