Do you believe in the power of meditation but find yourself struggling to make it a habit? If yes, you’re not alone.
There are so many people that I speak to on a day to day basis who believe that meditation can help realign their focus… but they never seem to be able to find the time to give it a try.
Just believing that meditation will do wonders for you does nothing on its own. Its powers can only be felt when you try it yourself.
It’s one of the simplest and the most powerful ways to realign one’s focus with their inner-self.
Many people I speak to think that meditation is time consuming and requires years of practice. That’s not true at all.
Anyone can cultivate the habit of meditation. It is an easy habit to develop and even people who are hard-pressed for time can practice it for a few minutes and start experiencing benefits.
Here’s how meditation can help you with yourself and your goals…
- Just like a nice swimming session on a hot summer day, meditation will relieve your stress and give you the relaxation you need
- Improves your mindfulness and self-awareness using which you can develop new habits, quit old ones and be fully present in whatever you do
- Blesses your brain with monk-like focus and clarity
- Improves your metabolism and increases blood circulation
- Higher energy levels and improved performance.
- Allows you to communicate more effectively by developing the empathy neurons in your brain
That’s just a small sample of benefits you’ll experience as you begin to meditate. There are a lot of other benefits that simply can’t be put in words. One has to experience it to know it.
Once you begin, you will understand its powers better and go on a journey of self-discovery.
Just immersing yourself in a short meditation session for a few minutes will bring in a warm sense of relaxation that you won’t find elsewhere.
When it comes to making meditation a daily habit, you have to realize that there is NO hard and fast rule. The right form of meditation that suits your friend or spouse may not be ideal for you.
It’s something you’ll have to figure out as you go along.
With that said, here are some sure-fire tips to help make meditation a daily habit…
Commit to less than 10 minutes a day:
The key to success in meditation is consistency. A single meditation session can relieve stress and make you feel calm.
However, you’ll only be able to reap the real fruits of meditation as you go deeper and practice it consistently for weeks, months and years.
I always tell my clients to only meditate for 10 minutes a day at the beginning. That’s when some people come to me and ask, “Is that enough? That seems like a really short amount of time”.
And this is my answer…
Initially, it does not matter if you meditate only for a short period of time. What matters is that you meditate.
Your consistency will help create neural pathways and this will improve your focus and clarity exponentially.
Pick A Regular Time And Trigger:
Scientists and consumer psychologists have been studying habit formation for a number of years and they’ve come to one conclusion:
Each habit has a trigger associated with it. It’s the trigger that leads to the new behavior (i.e. the habit).
Create a trigger that you’d like to use as an on-ramp to your meditation habit. It can be something like…
- your first cup of morning coffee
- When you touch your newspaper to read it
- Brushing your teeth in the morning
- Or right after your shower
Pick any one trigger and make sure that you only meditate right after the trigger for the first few days. This will help lock the habit in faster.
It also helps, if you pick a proper time slot for your meditation session each day. Just schedule 10 minutes somewhere and stick to it just like a normal work appointment.
Find a quiet place and sit comfortably:
It’s ideal if you meditate in a quiet place that feels comfortable for you.
Early morning, when everyone in your house is asleep is a good time to practice meditation. An unused conference room at work can also be used to serve the purpose.
Don’t get worked up about how you sit. Just make sure that your sitting position is comfortable for you.
Personally, I sit on the floor and ensure that I don’t have any back support to be able to fully feel the energy flowing through my body.
Again – there’s no hard and fast rule. Sitting in your office chair might also do the trick. What matters is that you meditate.
Start small:
It is prudent to start small and go easy in the beginning with any new habit including meditation. Practice meditating for 2 – 3 minutes for 7 – 10 days and then gradually increase the duration.
The crux here is to start small and move forward. Once you master meditating for 2-3 minutes on a consistent basis, you’ll find it easier to do the same thing for longer duration’s.
Focus on your breath:
Start your meditation session by focusing on your breath. Observe the energy moving in through your nostrils and throat and eventually filling up your lungs and belly region.
As you follow your breath, make sure that you be present in the situation. All kinds of thoughts will pop into your head. Just allow them to be and return your attention to the present.
That’s the key to developing mindfulness and monk-like focus.
In the beginning, it’ll be hard to control these thoughts and bring your attention back to the now.
But with patience and practice, you will be able to sustain your attention.
In this chaotic world, most of us are hard-pressed for time and look at shortcuts to everything… and that’s where meditation stands out – As a beacon that will navigate us towards mindfulness.
If you are someone that is looking to turnaround your health and career performance, then go here right now…
Strategy Call
Working with a professional coach who can listen to your frustrations non-judgmentally and support you can help you get results faster.
Besides working with clients 1 on 1, I also engage with corporate teams through my Group Wellness Sessions.
Through these sessions, your team will learn how to make powerful changes to their current lifestyle so they can tremendously improve performance. In my personal Intervention, I will teach them how to…
- Use Meditation to improve their focus and clarity
- Create an action plan to increase their energy levels tremendously
- Co-operate more efficiently with their teams
Are you an executive who’s looking to increase your team’s overall productivity? Then go here right now to get in touch with me…
About HPA
Yours Sincerely,
Satish Rao
PS: If you find this article helpful, I’d appreciate if you can spread the message with your friends and co-workers.