The very first time I meditated was with a group where we were guided for about five minutes. When we were done, the guide asked us how we felt about it. To this day I remember just how overwhelming it was the whole time. It was so damn difficult to not think about all the other things that were going on in my life at the time.
It’s one of my first truly mindful moments. I truly recognized just how distracted and how far apart I was from being fully present. What would I do about it?
Years passed. I walked a path of self-discovery and worked on myself as much as I could. I read a bunch and learned to be more and more present. My life changed, Life was way better. I thought about meditating a bunch and loosely attempted a few other times, but I never really got into a solid practice.
Last year, when I was working on changing my Habits (HABITS 101 – Brian Johnson) – I decided to make ‘meditation’ my keystone daily habit. While I’m just in the very beginning stages of my practice, I feel that it has been one of the best things that have happened in my life.
Today, I feel more focused, present, productive, confident, and energized as a direct result of meditating every day.
I plan on seeking teachers to learn more and have a deeper practice. I’m excited to keep practicing and seeing how it continues to optimize my life.
I offer a few tips on how I started and been able to maintain a daily practice to any of my friends who have thought about getting things going.
I believe it could be the best thing that you can do for yourself too.
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- There’s no such thing as a bad meditation – The more overwhelmed and distracted I am, the more useful meditating is for me. Think of it as a self-check, awareness, and acceptance of just how jumbled things may be. Had you not meditated, you would have repressed all that. You’ll always be better off taking a few minutes to breathe in and rest your mind.
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- Practice Daily – Make it a habit. Start at 1 min, 2 min, 3 mins, increase as you see fit. Make it SO EASY to start and work your way up. (If you end up missing one, challenge yourself to never skip 2 days in a row!) When you start seeing results, it’ll be enough to motivate you to keep doing it. My goal on my ‘daily to do list’ is still marked at 5 mins, even though I’ve been doing a minimum 10 minutes each morning, sometimes 2-3x a day.
- Learn the benefits – Google & Youtube! Listen and watch other people talk about the benefits of why they’re doing it. Get inspired and motivated and relate to how it can help you physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
In the end, it’s all about self-love. Do it for you – mind, body, and soul.
T.
Here are some daily guided meditations I use and videos about meditation that I’ve watched that you might find helpful.
check out this intro to Brian Johnson’s Master Class: HABITS 101 – his master classes will change your life !!
more on Brian Johnson – OPTIMIZE ME
