Unraveling mindfulness for individuals: a comprehensive review of conceptual dimensions

Purpose – The purpose of this systematic literature review is threefold: first, to examine what constitutes mindfulness and define boundary conditions of the construct for holistic understanding; second, to synthesize the conceptualization of the individual-level construct of mindfulness by challenging existing assumptions; and third, to discuss future areas of research and practice on purposefully applying mindfulness beyond clinical setups. Design/methodology/approach – This study employed a theory-driven, structured approach to review the various definitions of mindfulness from different viewpoints and themes. Following triangulation and the ontological theory of concept, this study adopts a generative systematic literature review that problematizes the findings of recent reviews. Findings – It investigates several schools of thought to analyze the dimensions and correlates of mindfulness. Conceptual synthesis of the two bases of conceptualization yields the boundary conditions with the necessary and jointly sufficient attributes of construct mindfulness in individuals. This research also underscores the importance of other dimensions studied in the literature. Practical implications – This review makes a crucial contribution in providing a holistic understanding of the two levels of mindfulness with an indication of examining the plausible detrimental effects of mindfulness in individuals. There are three key outcomes of the study: generative review and synthesis: (1) a definition of mindfulness, (2) a conceptual framework of “what constitutes mindfulness?” and (3) a conceptual model for future research. Originality/value – This study is the first generative systematic literature review to conceptualize mindfulness for individuals using necessary and sufficient attributes.