50 days of mediation and . . .

To say I have been a skeptic of meditation or mindfulness would be quite an understatement. Throw in the idea of a gratitude journal and the conversation would come to a screeching halt. Who needs that, I would ask you. Further, I would talk about the lack of mental fortitude in “those people” to get through a day.
Turns out I needed it. We all need it. And we all benefit from these practices. It is about finding new and unique ways to be our best self every day. For all of my childhood and well into adulthood, just doing your job, whatever it was at the time was all that mattered. How you felt about it was irrelevant. This worked in my eyes but I was not being truthful with myself. I was still reacting to what was happening around me instead of responding. I was not bringing my best self to work or to my family and I certainly was not present.
I started a gratitude journal almost two years ago and have made this a daily habit to start my morning. I was shocked at the impact it had on my attitude on a day to day basis.
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” Melody Beattie
After reflecting on the changes I felt and sensed through my gratitude journal, I decided to finally give meditation a try. As I surpass the 50-day threshold of meditation through the help of the Headspace App, here are a few things I’ve learned.
- It is easier to start meditating than you think especially when you take advantage of the tools out there such as headspace and make it a routine. Every morning after exercise and getting the kids up for school, I spend 5 minutes meditating. I may spend more time in the future but for now, 5 minutes works for me.
- If you stop making excuses, you will create time to meditate. One of my arguments in the past against the idea was that I simply did not have time. This was in part because I made it into some giant task that would require way too much time. I have a job, a wife, 3 kids… nope, can’t meditate. That is no longer the case.
- It teaches you how to be present more than you thought possible. When meditating you are practicing and rehearsing the idea of being present. You focus on one task, meditating, and this carries over into your daily routines and life in general.
- You begin spending more time responding and less time reacting. It has been a challenging fall professionally for a variety of circumstances, many of which are out of my control. In the past, I would have reacted in a way that was not positive or helpful. Over the past 50 days, I have realized that my focus needs to be on how to best respond and then how to move forward. Our reactions are rarely useful and in many cases, counter-productive.
- If I have the patience and discipline to make this a daily practice, what else can I do to support my growth and health? Or a better question, what else I can live without that is negatively impacting my growth and health?
If you already practice meditation regularly, I applaud you. If you are a skeptic like me, give it a try. I recommend using HeadSpace. I started with the Basic course that asks for a minimum of 3 minutes a day for 10 days. You will notice a change in your day to day life as you find yourself being present more often and responding to challenges thrown at you instead of reacting to them.
