Lt. Col. Jannell MacAulay, Teaching 'Mental Push-ups' in US Air Force
Lt. Col. Dr. Jannell MacAulay discusses how mindfulness meditation, initially embraced out of personal necessity, enhances leadership, performance, and well-being in high-stress military settings. She advocates for its integration as a national security asset.
Deep Dive Analysis
14 Topic Outline
Loving Kindness vs. Positive Affirmations
Coping with Anxiety and Depression After Job Loss
Lieutenant Colonel Janell MacAulay's Introduction to Meditation
Integrating Yoga and Mindfulness into Personal Life
Researching Performance Under Stress and Wellness
Developing a Personal Mindfulness Practice Routine
Mindfulness Impact on Parenting and High-Stress Situations
Introducing Mindfulness Leadership in the Air Force
Teaching Stress Response and Breath Awareness to Airmen
Impact of Mindfulness on Unit Performance and Culture
Addressing Skepticism and Resistance to Military Mindfulness
Mindfulness as a National Security Asset for Military Readiness
Overcoming the 'No Time for Mindfulness' Objection
Realizing the Cost of Mind-Wandering: The Four L's
7 Key Concepts
Positive Thinking (Self-Help Industry Version)
This concept suggests that one can affect external reality by controlling thoughts, implying that constant positive thinking leads to universally positive outcomes. The episode clarifies there's no evidence this changes the external world, often benefiting only those who promote the idea.
Loving Kindness Meditation
A practice involving systematically sending good wishes (e.g., 'may you be happy, may you be healthy') to oneself, close ones, neutral people, and all beings. It is explained to boost compassion and the ability to care for others, thereby changing the practitioner's internal state and well-being.
Servant Leadership
A foundational military principle where leaders prioritize serving others before themselves and would not ask subordinates to do something they wouldn't do. The episode emphasizes that true servant leadership also requires self-love and self-care, akin to putting on one's own oxygen mask first.
Stress Response (Physiological)
The body's automatic reaction to stress, characterized by the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the amygdala, leading to physical symptoms like clammy hands and a racing heart. Understanding this mechanism allows for a conscious pause and response rather than an impulsive reaction.
Cognitive Resourcing
Refers to the brain's capacity for attention and focus. High stress, particularly during military pre-deployment, can significantly decrease cognitive resourcing, leading to increased mind-wandering and degraded performance. Mindfulness training is shown to protect and maintain this capacity.
Emotional Regulation
The ability to manage and respond to one's emotional experiences. Mindfulness aids emotional regulation by fostering awareness and grounding, enabling individuals to make conscious decisions instead of being driven by reactive, primitive brain responses, especially under pressure.
The Four L's (Labor, Laugh, Learn, Love)
A framework for harmonizing daily life, encouraging individuals to actively seek and engage in hard work (labor), joy (laugh), growth (learn), and connection (love) in their everyday moments. This approach counters the tendency to defer these experiences to future events like vacations, promoting present-moment appreciation.
7 Questions Answered
Loving kindness meditation involves systematically sending good wishes to others, which scientifically boosts the practitioner's compassion and ability to care for others, thereby changing their internal state. Positive affirmations, as often promoted in self-help, suggest that merely thinking positively can change external circumstances, which lacks scientific evidence for external impact.
Effective strategies include talk therapy, medication (if recommended), exercise, maintaining good relationships, getting enough sleep, eating well, and practicing meditation. It's advised to utilize all available resources to address these conditions comprehensively.
Begin by leading by example, demonstrating mindful leadership qualities such as presence and authenticity. Then, educate others about their physiological stress response and the power of breath, gradually introducing mindfulness techniques once trust and understanding are established within the unit.
High stress, particularly in pre-deployment periods, significantly decreases cognitive resourcing, leading to reduced attention, increased mind-wandering, and degraded performance. Mindfulness training has been shown to protect the brain, helping individuals maintain optimal cognitive states despite stress.
Yes, mindfulness can be a national security asset by protecting the brains of service members, ensuring they perform at their highest levels in all military jobs, which can save lives. It can also contribute to a more mindful nation by fostering emotional regulation and better decision-making from a young age, potentially increasing the pool of eligible military recruits.
By recognizing that multitasking is inefficient and mind-wandering consumes a significant portion of waking moments (up to 50%), individuals can 'design better ways' to focus by turning off distractions and using mindfulness to extend attention, thereby creating more 'white space' and actually gaining time.
Mind-wandering often involves unpleasant thoughts and can lead to missing out on the joyful, present moments of life, even when physically present with loved ones. Recognizing this allows for a conscious effort to bring attention back to the present and appreciate everyday experiences.
25 Actionable Insights
1. Prioritize Mental Health Treatment
If you are experiencing depression and anxiety, address these issues first, as it will be challenging to manage other life aspects, including your career, without taking care of your mental health.
2. Utilize Proven Well-being Levers
To effectively address depression and anxiety, engage in a comprehensive approach by using all scientifically supported methods: talk therapy, medication (if recommended by a physician), regular exercise, fostering good relationships, ensuring sufficient sleep, maintaining a healthy diet, and practicing meditation.
3. Prioritize Self-Care (Oxygen Mask Analogy)
Embody true servant leadership by prioritizing self-love and self-care, much like putting on your own oxygen mask before assisting others. Neglecting your own well-being can lead to physical and emotional burnout, hindering your ability to serve effectively.
4. Practice Loving Kindness Meditation
Systematically send good wishes to others—whether close to you, not close, or all beings—by repeating phrases like ‘May you be happy, may you be healthy’ in your mind. This practice is scientifically shown to boost your compassion, help you get out of your own head, and ultimately benefit your own well-being.
5. Schedule Meditation as an Appointment
To establish a consistent meditation habit, block out time on your calendar for it, treating it as a non-negotiable appointment with yourself. This approach helps prevent the guilt associated with missing a to-do list item and reinforces the habit.
6. Anchor on the Breath
Begin your mindfulness practice by focusing on your breath, feeling its sensations in the present moment. This serves as your primary anchor to bring your attention back when your mind wanders.
7. View Distractions as Mental Push-ups
When your mind inevitably wanders during meditation, acknowledge the thought without judgment, then gently guide your awareness back to your anchor, like your breath. Each time you do this, consider it a ‘mental push-up’ that strengthens your attention muscle.
8. Incorporate Self-Reflection, Gratitude
Dedicate a portion of your meditation practice to self-reflection, infusing it with gratitude and self-compassion, especially towards your struggles or imperfections. This helps you forgive yourself and recognize growth in challenges.
9. Forgive Missed Meditation Sessions
If you miss a scheduled meditation session, immediately forgive yourself and commit to trying again the next day. This ’let it go’ attitude is crucial for maintaining a sustainable practice and avoiding added stress or guilt.
10. Find Mindful Moments Daily
Integrate mindfulness into your everyday life by using brief moments, such as waiting for an elevator or in line, to ‘zone in’ on the present experience. This helps counteract the momentum of mindlessness and brings awareness to ordinary activities.
11. Practice Mindfulness for Emotional Regulation
Utilize mindfulness as a tool to manage emotional overreactivity, allowing you to perceive and respond to stress in a more grounded and aware way. This helps prevent emotional decisions often regretted later.
12. Build Trust Through Connection
As a leader, prioritize connection before giving direction by being present, aware, and actively building relationships with your team members. This fosters trust and makes them more receptive to your guidance and leadership.
13. Lead by Mindful Example
As a leader, demonstrate mindfulness by being authentic and present, giving your full attention to others, and openly practicing self-care. This sets a positive example and encourages your team to prioritize their own well-being.
14. Teach Stress Response Awareness
Educate your team about their physiological stress response (e.g., clammy hands, racing heart) and teach them to ‘go to the cloud’—take deep breaths and step back before reacting. This empowers them to pause and respond thoughtfully rather than impulsively.
15. Harmonize Life’s Four L’s
Daily strive to harmonize ’labor, laugh, learn, and love’ rather than trying to balance them, which can be an unrealistic expectation. Actively seek and appreciate these elements in your everyday life instead of postponing joy for future events.
16. Practice Mindful Breathing with Kids
At the end of the day, sit with your children, take two deep breaths together, and reflect on whether you ’labored, loved, laughed, and learned.’ This simple routine fosters connection and presence within the family.
17. Respond Calmly to Child’s Needs
When children are anxious or demanding (e.g., not wanting to go to bed), take a single deep breath to bring yourself to the present moment and maintain your calmness. Children often feed off parental anxiety, so a calm response can help them settle more quickly.
18. Use a Notebook for Mental Release
Carry a notebook to jot down tasks and thoughts as they arise, transferring them from your brain to a secure place. This practice helps quiet the mind by assuring it that important information won’t be forgotten, allowing for greater focus.
19. Turn Off Digital Distractions
When focusing on a task, disable email notifications and other digital distractions to improve concentration and productivity. Multitasking by switching between tasks is inefficient and degrades performance.
20. Reduce Mind Wandering for Efficiency
Recognize that mind wandering consumes about 50% of our waking moments; by using mindfulness to sustain attention and minimize unintentional mental time travel, you can create more ‘white space’ and efficiency in your day.
21. Lead with Science for Skeptics
When introducing new practices, especially in resistant environments, present scientific evidence that demonstrates their tangible benefits. For instance, highlight research showing how mindfulness protects cognitive function under high stress.
22. Embrace Second Chances
Believe in the possibility of second, third, or even fourth chances in life and career. After taking time to care for yourself, be prepared to re-engage and pursue new opportunities.
23. Observe Technology’s Pull
Become aware of the automatic, almost zombie-like urge to reach for your phone when experiencing boredom, loneliness, fatigue, or hunger. Consciously choose to ‘zone in’ on the present moment instead of seeking a dopamine hit from your device.
24. Use Yoga for Solitude
If you find yourself physically and emotionally exhausted, consider trying yoga as a sanctuary to find solitude and quiet. It can provide a space where you can simply ‘be’ without the demands of your various roles.
25. Avoid ‘Power of Positive Thinking’
Do not rely on the self-help industry’s concept that merely thinking positively all the time will magically change your external world or solve all your problems. There is no evidence to suggest that this approach is effective.
8 Key Quotes
The only people who have had all their problems solved by this by the books that that um you know propagate this myth are the people who write these books because they make a lot of money writing these books.
Dan Harris
You have to put on our own oxygen mask for ourselves before we serve and lead others.
Lt. Col. Janell MacAulay
I'm going to actually see my thoughts; I'm just not going to give them control over me. I'm going to just bring this awareness.
Lt. Col. Janell MacAulay
A so-called bad sit is when it's like a tough workout because if you can hone in on the breath for just a nanosecond in the midst of a storm like that, well that is training the mind to release the story, release the ego's story and go back to whatever it is you're trying to focus on your breath.
Dan Harris
My first rule is you got to do it and make it a part of your calendar not a to-do on your to-do list but the second rule is let it go right when you don't do it you have to be able to immediately just forgive yourself and say I'll try again tomorrow.
Lt. Col. Janell MacAulay
We will inoculate our military members with every possible vaccine just in case when we're in a deployed environment we come in contact with something so very important we do that but we know that there's going to be stress we know there's going to be emotional trauma that most of us will see in a deployed environment and we don't do much to protect our brains.
Lt. Col. Janell MacAulay
You have to have connection before you give direction.
Lt. Col. Janell MacAulay
Mommy, why are you so sad? And I love you, Mommy.
Lt. Col. Janell MacAulay's son
3 Protocols
Mindfulness Practice Routine
Lt. Col. Janell MacAulay- Put the practice on your calendar as an appointment, not a to-do list item, to ensure it becomes a routine.
- Begin by anchoring on the breath, focusing on present moment sensations (e.g., for about 10 minutes).
- Transition to self-reflection, incorporating gratitude, loving kindness, and self-compassion, particularly for self-forgiveness (e.g., for about 5 minutes).
- When the mind wanders, acknowledge the thought, then gently bring awareness back to the anchor point, viewing it as a 'mental push-up'.
- If a day is missed, immediately forgive yourself and resolve to try again tomorrow, applying the same 'let it go' attitude as during meditation distractions.
- Integrate short, mindful moments into daily life, such as while waiting for an elevator or in line, to zone in instead of zoning out.
'Go to the Cloud' Stress Response Protocol
Lt. Col. Janell MacAulay- Recognize the physical signs of stress, such as clammy hands, a racing heart, or butterflies in the stomach.
- Take a step back, mentally 'go to the cloud' to create distance from the immediate reaction.
- Take a couple of deep breaths to calm the physiological stress response.
- Respond thoughtfully to the situation, rather than reacting impulsively, to avoid later regret.
The Four L's Daily Reflection
Lt. Col. Janell MacAulay- At the end of the day, sit with your children or reflect personally.
- Take two deep breaths together.
- Ask: 'Did you labor today?' to acknowledge hard work.
- Ask: 'Did you love?' and if not, give hugs to foster connection.
- Ask: 'Did you laugh?' and if not, engage in playful activities like a 'tickle monster'.
- Ask: 'Did you learn something?' to encourage growth.
- Actively seek to find and appreciate these elements in everyday life, rather than postponing them for future events like vacations.