Leveraging Components of MBSR to Minimize Stress and Maximize Performance

Mindfulness, a fairly new concept, is considered enhanced awareness and attention. This state of mind can result in decentering or reperceiving, a notion where an individual reframes how he or she evaluates experiences to view them as an external witness from an objective stance. A large branch of mindfulness research studies how mindfulness can be fostered and used to engender positive outcomes. Perhaps the most well-known mindfulness intervention is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), an eight-week program comprised of three parts. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of each of these components, as well as identify the most effective component, in reducing stress and increasing performance within an academic setting. Since academic settings are, in some ways, similar to organizational settings, it is believed the results of this study could be utilized to develop a concise version of MBSR, able to be used by those who are generally limited in time and resources—employees and students alike. Additionally, companies and universities may be more willing to implement an abridged version of MBSR if it is shown to maximize performance and minimize stress without costing too much time and too many resources