15 Sep Meditation: When Not Thinking Gets Hard

We all hear all the time now, “Meditate, meditate, meditate; the top 1% meditate at 4am in a dark cold plunge and that’s why they’re successful.” So much so it’s to the point where I don’t know about you, but if I don’t meditate I feel like a failure or I’m missing out on something. 

Meditation is not a quick fix, one-time-cure-all, magic cure that alleviates any and all blockages, problems, or challenges. Meditation is an active practice of conscious presence. It’s a practice of intentionally choosing to pause and live in the current moment and not the past or future. Sounds simple, right? Don’t we all “live in the moment?” Unfortunately, meditating is a difficult practice to begin and become used to, but once it’s a consistently used tool, meditation is a welcome reprieve from the monotonous day-to-day strain of reality. 

The benefits of meditation include but are not limited to:

• Lower anxiety
• Stress management
• Deeper sleep
• Increased focus
• Emotional regulation

There are a million ways to meditate, and not every style is one-size-fits-all — which is a deterrent to most, having to try multiple styles to find what really genuinely feels good. My suggestion? Pick one style to try once or twice per week for one month. Starting with a low barrier amount relieves the stress of achievement. Meditation is “successful” only if you actively try! There’s no gold star for time spent day dreaming or fidgeting with no purpose, that’s just doom scrolling without a device. 

Try It

Set a timer for just five minutes and sit in a quiet space by yourself. You can listen to a guided meditation, calming music, or really test yourself with complete silence. Ignore the excuses in your brain — everyone has five minutes somewhere in their day! This can be in your bed before or after sleep, or even in your car before you enter your chaotic household. For those five minutes, just focus on patiently sitting still, noticing how you’re breathing, and try not to let you mind wander elsewhere. If it does, instead of bullying yourself, gently guide yourself back to presence. Practice kindness with yourself! As you keep trying, eventually add on a minute or two.