Langerian Mindfulness and Optimal Sport Performance

Abstract

This chapter celebrates the brilliance of the pioneering and broadly impactful life work of Ellen Langer. In particular, the chapter makes a call for sport psychology practitioners to intentionally apply Langerian mindfulness to interventions focused on facilitating athletes’ optimal sport performance. Sport psychology consultants have long understood the value of being fully engaged to achieve optimal performance, yet still there seems to lack a theoretical grounding about how to create a fully present state of mind. Traditional sport psychology interventions are focused on using techniques to help athletes replicate their past best performances. This chapter offers a theoretical discussion that connects Langerian mindfulness as a direct pathway to enhance performance to Czikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow (a fully engaged experience). In addition, we offer an example that demonstrates how Langerian mindfulness can be integrated into a sport intervention and provide case examples of elite athletes applying Langerian mindfulness that, together, highlight the significant benefit of applying Langerian mindfulness to the world of sport.