Two weeks ago I heard Neil Pasricha speak at Western University. He asked the audience of a couple hundred people how many had heard about the benefits of meditating. Pretty much all hands went up. He then asked how many people have a routine of regular meditation – my hand was the only one that went up. Six months ago, my hand would have been down with the rest of the audience.
Most people have heard about the benefits of meditation. I had heard about it, many times. I had brushed it off, many times. Who has time for that, anyway?
With a commitment to personal development, I realized the concept of meditation kept surfacing for a reason. So – I did the most appropriate thing; I googled “easy meditation for beginners”.
I clicked through some pages, and then I landed on this one. I stopped on this one because it was brief – to the point, and exactly what I was looking for, with no fluff. It told me what I needed to know, and how I could do it.
Here is where the foundation for my mediation began: https://zenhabits.net/meditation-guide/
When beginning a new habit, one of the top considerations, for me, is setting realistic expectations. I’ve been through the process of habits failing many times, and you, too, can likely agree that for any habit to stick, the expectations have to be realistic.
The process that Leo Babauta outlines has a realistic time commitment, and realistic outcomes. Win-win, for me.
I followed his outlined process daily. I would meditate for only two minutes at first, and within several weeks I worked up to a comfortable 15-30 daily minutes of meditation in the morning, and often another 5-10 at night. However, I don’t think there is any wrong or right here, two minutes a day long-term is more than most people ever do.
My personal preference is to have silent meditation in the morning, and I often opt for a guided meditation at night. There are many guided meditations out there (check out Headspace: Guided Meditation and Mindfulness on the App Store), my personal favourite is Kris Carr’s evening meditation: http://kriscarr.com/products/self-care-for-busy-people-digital-meditation-album/
For the first several weeks of forming my meditation habit, I made it as easy as possible. I would meditate before I got out of bed in the morning. How empowering it was to commit to this practice first thing in the morning before starting anything else. I mean, the moment your feet touch the ground in the morning, you have already achieved something that enhances your wellness and personal development. Talk about starting your day off right – and it only took two minutes.
As silly as it sounds, if you try this method, don’t forget to smile at the end of your meditation session. Not only will you self-acknowledge that you did something wonderful for yourself before you did anything else that day, but putting a smile on your face will make you feel a sense of happiness, even if you are not a morning person.
Without a doubt, meditation has been the most important habit I have committed to. It has been life-changing for me. If you haven’t tried it – I encourage you to give it a go. Be realistic, be kind to yourself, and you will most definitely succeed.