I have been meditating regularly for the last 11 months in an attempt to subdue the hundreds of thoughts I have flying around in my head.
As someone who requires structure to do most things, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get straight into just sitting down in silence and taking myself straight into a meditative state.
There are lots of apps and programs out there but I decided to go with ‘Headspace’. It has range of mindful activities, videos, classes, podcasts and guided meditations. To be completely honest, I have only ever listened to guided meditations. The amount of different options available on the app is quite overwhelming and completely surplus to what I wanted.
Like most new things we all want to do, I found finding the time to meditate pretty challenging. Balancing family life, work and all the other things I try to do for my wellbeing was pretty difficult.
Fortunately, Headspace has some ‘quick’ guided meditations, which I lapped up and started doing 3 minute meditations regularly throughout the week.
Even though it was only 3 minutes, I really found it hard to turn off all the thoughts buzzing around my brain. I persisted and stayed disciplined in doing the minutes.
I gradually started to relax into the practice and could reduce the noise in my head to one or two thoughts. This was the progress I was looking for.
Since then, I have built up to meditating for at least 10 minutes at a time. I really enjoy the time I spend meditating and depending on the time of day often feel that it helps set me up for the day, or allows me to rid my brain of the accumulated thoughts from a big day.
As the title of this article suggests, I have now progressed to daily meditation and have hit the 100 day streak. It’s a small milestone that I am celebrating and I have some lessons to share.
Don’t try too hard I still try too hard to clear my mind of thoughts, which then creates more thoughts and prevents me from getting into a deep meditation. Be kind to yourself and celebrate the wins when you get them.
You don’t always have to be sat down in a quiet room to meditate Meditation is just about being present in the moment. You can be performing mundane tasks and be truly present, giving you all the same benefits as meditating.
Meditation isn’t the answer to being more present, patient and making you a better person Meditating is one strategy that helps to move the dial and improve your overall wellbeing by a small percentage. It’s very easy to say you meditate and jump to the conclusion that you have started a habit that could be making yourself a better person, but really that healthy habit is another escape from reality.
Consistency is the key The answer to growth and development is consistency, turning up when you don’t want to, going for that run when it’s wet and cold outside, being consistent in the face of adversity is the key to any meaningful change. Being consistent with your meditation practice pays off in the end.
I would recommend meditating to anyone but it is not a silver bullet, you need to build a suite of habits that will help strengthen your overall wellbeing.
The benefits I have seen are all the things I was searching for;
I am more present in conversations.
I have (slightly) more patience in challenging situations.
I’m aware of my feeling towards situations and I am able to choose a better way to respond, rather than react.
Small changes, implemented consistently over a long period of time are going to benefit you the most, like they have for me in my meditation practice.
I found Dan Harris’ book “10% happier” a great resource to understand how meditation doesn’t really change your life, but it can make you a few percentage points happier.
I’m hoping I can continue to build on this 100 day streak and I am already looking to increase my daily practice to 20 minutes. I really want to start leading my own meditation and will be looking to move away from guided meditations when I feel more confident.
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