{"id":2276,"date":"2012-03-25T10:25:50","date_gmt":"2012-03-25T14:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/?p=2276"},"modified":"2012-03-25T10:27:36","modified_gmt":"2012-03-25T14:27:36","slug":"personality-got-some","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/03\/personality-got-some.html","title":{"rendered":"Personality: Got Some? Tiger Woods versus Graeme McDowell"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tiger Woods has the lead going into the final Sunday round of a golf tournement for the first time in what seems to be forever. I am always struck with how awkward Tiger’s post-round interviews are. This was the case before his sex scandal, but it seems particularly acute now. Here is his interview from Saturday after the 3rd round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill:<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Contrast Tiger’s interview to the post-round comments of Graeme McDowell, the charismatic 2009 U.S. Open Champion from Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Tiger is one of the most influential figures in sport. He has transformed golf. Yet, it’s never been about his personality, or lack thereof. I could issue a dissertation on personality theory, but, instead, just watch the difference in these two interviews. One man has “personality” the other does not. Of course, Tiger has a personality; it is just not agreeable. He is not comfortable in the social situation, does not know how to be at ease in the context of public scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Watching McDowell, there is the sense that he is just being himself. He speaks without calculation. It’s not the words that differentiate these two men, it is the sense behind the words–the coherence, ease, and spontaneity.<\/p>\n

What does this speculative personality comparison have to do with mindfulness? You can think of mindfulness as an invitation to be your self without artifice, calculation, or tension.<\/p>\n

Tiger is self-conscious in the public eye. I think he could benefit from taking a mindful breath, pausing, and smiling more. He could benefit from resting into the moment without what I imagine are self-induced pressures to get through the interview–to endure this process that has been imposed upon him. That captures the sense of Tiger’s interview–they are an imposition. He has to do them, but he is often surly. Actually, the sequence above is probably one of the lighter interviews he’s done in a long time (maybe because he hasn’t been in the Sunday lead in a long time).He actually smiles!<\/p>\n

It seems that Graeme is just naturally himself and that he enjoys the interview because that is what is happening in this moment and he is giving himself fully to whatever moment is at hand. His smiles are genuine and infectious.<\/p>\n

You can also think of mindfulness permission to be in<\/em> the present moment rather than watching it from outside, self-consciously–just show up and be however you are. This permission can help you to relax into the present moment. When you relax into the present moment, you are more prone to lightness, pleasure, and interest.<\/p>\n

I watch these interviews with fascination. I’d like to be more like Graeme than Tiger in social situations. I don’t think that Graeme is utilizing mindfulness practice to be make him more genuine, I think he is just constructed this way–it’s his personality. I will have to work at it to be more Graeme-like because that is not the way I am built. Yet, I know that mindfulness can help me to be more spontaneous, relaxed, and present in social situations.<\/p>\n

Good luck today, gentleman. Should be another exciting day on the PGA Tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tiger Woods has the lead going into the final Sunday round of a golf tournement for the first time in what seems to be forever. I am always struck with how awkward Tiger’s post-round interviews are. This was the case before his sex scandal, but it seems particularly acute now. Here is his interview from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,7,9,17],"tags":[438,439,1079,437,21,441,440,126,436],"class_list":["post-2276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media","category-metaphors-for-mindfulness","category-mindfulnesss","category-sport","tag-arnold-palmer-invitational","tag-bay-hill","tag-golf","tag-graeme-mcdowell","tag-mindfulness","tag-personality","tag-pga-tour","tag-smiling","tag-tiger-woods"],"yoast_head":"\nPersonality: Got Some? Tiger Woods versus Graeme McDowell - Mindfulness Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/03\/personality-got-some.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Personality: Got Some? Tiger Woods versus Graeme McDowell - Mindfulness Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tiger Woods has the lead going into the final Sunday round of a golf tournement for the first time in what seems to be forever. I am always struck with how awkward Tiger’s post-round interviews are. This was the case before his sex scandal, but it seems particularly acute now. Here is his interview from…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/03\/personality-got-some.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mindfulness Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-03-25T14:25:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-03-25T14:27:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Arnie Kozak\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Personality: Got Some? Tiger Woods versus Graeme McDowell - Mindfulness Matters","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/03\/personality-got-some.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Personality: Got Some? Tiger Woods versus Graeme McDowell - Mindfulness Matters","og_description":"Tiger Woods has the lead going into the final Sunday round of a golf tournement for the first time in what seems to be forever. I am always struck with how awkward Tiger’s post-round interviews are. This was the case before his sex scandal, but it seems particularly acute now. Here is his interview from…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/03\/personality-got-some.html","og_site_name":"Mindfulness Matters","article_published_time":"2012-03-25T14:25:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-03-25T14:27:36+00:00","author":"Dr. Arnie Kozak","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/03\/personality-got-some.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/03\/personality-got-some.html","name":"Personality: Got Some? Tiger Woods versus Graeme McDowell - Mindfulness Matters","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-03-25T14:25:50+00:00","dateModified":"2012-03-25T14:27:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/5f92cf2ae15fbe04e74ca47527ac68d8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/03\/personality-got-some.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/03\/personality-got-some.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/03\/personality-got-some.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Personality: Got Some? Tiger Woods versus Graeme McDowell"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/","name":"Mindfulness Matters","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Arnie Kozak","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/5f92cf2ae15fbe04e74ca47527ac68d8","name":"Dr. Arnie Kozak","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/6ab\/6abd6f3205265768510a13d66ac2aff7x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/6ab\/6abd6f3205265768510a13d66ac2aff7x96.jpg","caption":"Dr. Arnie Kozak"},"description":"Recognized as an innovator in the field of mindfulness-based psychology, Dr. Arnie Kozak is northern New England's leading expert in the field. Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2276"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2284,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2276\/revisions\/2284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}