Mindset Mondays: George Mumford — You’re Already a Masterpiece

George Mumford is a mindfulness and performance expert who has worked with NBA champions like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, Olympians, and executives.

When asked how to make massive changes in yourself and in your life, he said you have to have a sense of urgency to change to connect with the masterpiece that is already inside of you. Mumford believes we all have greatness within us, and our job is to remove all the things that are blocking it so that it can grow, shine, and express itself.

Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși once said, “We are not creating ourselves. We are chipping away at the excess to reveal who we already are.” Michelangelo was a famous painter and sculptor who painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling and sculpted a famous statue of David. He once said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free,” and, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”

You have to believe that you have greatness inside of you and have a commitment to get better. Then, you have to be able to see yourself truthfully, where you are, and what you need to do to let the masterpiece inside of you out.

That is where mindfulness comes in. Mumford has said, “Mindfulness is about getting out of the way of your own excellence,” by letting go of fear, ego, and overthinking, staying present instead of reactive, and trusting your training. Mumford says we have to learn how to keep the 

Mumford believes we should start from a place of optimism and hope, have social support, and see challenges as opportunities, not threats. Mumford said, when you make mistakes, “You can beat yourself up, or you can love and forgive yourself.”

We are wired for success, but how we relate to our experiences — our perspective — determines whether we are chipping away at or burying our masterpiece. The world is happening to us all the time — we can choose to see it as distracting background noise or music like it’s our own personal soundtrack.

There is a great masterpiece within you. Do the work it takes to let it out.