Another common question that I get is how do I start meditation?
This is usually followed up by I can't stop thinking,
My brain won't turn off,
I can't sit still,
I'm too distracted,
You know,
All the things really that happen when we feel stressed and stretched to the max.
My answer is always this,
Start small.
Start with one minute every day for a week or two weeks or a month,
However long it takes for you to consistently do that.
Then move to five minutes and then ten and if you're up for it even longer as you grow your practice.
And this is why.
The interesting thing about meditation is even in very small increments we're training the brain to be present.
We are creating new pathways according to science.
You might be wondering how one small thing can make such a big impact and it is this reason.
We're actually changing the composition of the brain which will help us choose new healthy uplifting things instead of the old paths that hold us back and drag us down.
Creating new paths cannot be necessarily done overnight but studies do show that we can do that within as little as six months.
Six months.
Imagine where you could be in that time by just taking action on one small thing every single day.
We have to be committed to that daily practice because if it isn't repeated we will lose progress and we will end up right back where we started.
And that's why starting small is really my biggest tip.
It has to be sustainable or there's no point in doing it.
We can all relate to weight loss,
Nutrition,
Movement and exercise,
Getting fit or feeling stronger.
Like it takes consistent action over and over and over to get results.
We can't do something in one day or ten days or a month even.
It takes time to build this as part of your life.
Something that you do every day.
Too often we underestimate the power of this small consistent action.
We think if we don't go all in,
Like go big or go home,
Right?
If we don't go all in then what's the point?
When it comes to mindfulness,
Specifically meditation,
One minute consistently is better than one hour occasionally.
So again think about movement or exercise.
One small action every day is going to have better results for you than going to the gym for 30 minutes once a week.
Right?
Make that correlation because we are all very familiar with actions when it comes to our physical health.
This is no different.
So by tackling this one minute at a time you are setting an intention.
You are mastering one small goal and that means you're more likely to keep going because it's manageable and it's achievable.
If you set yourself up for an hour every day,
And you can't follow through because let's be real life happens,
The brain,
The mind,
Like deems that as a failure.
It tells us,
Nope told you you can't do it.
And what happens then is we want to give up right then and there.
It's this game that our brain,
Our mind plays with us,
That if you can't be consistent and you can't follow through then there's no point in doing it.
And so when we try for these really big things,
Usually we fall short because all it takes is one day of something happening where we don't maybe follow through and then we give up.
We throw in the towel.
So it's amazing how we can retrain these things through just little bits.
Now if life happens,
You can still find time for one minute or five minutes.
Sometimes we cannot find the time for 30,
45,
An hour or so on.
So when I think about starting a new thing,
Like meditation,
When I'm asked this question,
How do I start?
It's important to set our intentions.
So I mentioned that we are setting that intention by doing one small thing every day,
But it's helpful to ask yourself,
Why do you want to do this?
What is the goal for you in adding this to your life?
What do you hope to gain?
It's really important that we put meaning behind what we're doing.
And you know that I am a proponent advocate for living with purpose,
Being intentional with what we're doing.
So why are you doing this activity?
Why do you want meditation to be part of your life?
And if you're kind of feeling like,
Well,
Because everybody says I should,
Because I'm told X,
Y,
Z,
Let's talk about that and dig into that a little bit.
Because there is a reason this comes up in your life.
There is a reason that maybe you are hearing this message.
There is a reason that people are telling you that this can help,
But we have to dig deeper and figure out where you have mission and purpose behind doing this.
So having an intention is creating a plan with purpose,
Instead of winging it and hoping for the best.
So when we don't put that meaning behind it,
When we don't connect ourselves to that thing,
Then we really don't have any reason logically to do it.
And so then we're kind of just hoping for the best.
And again,
This can go with,
Nutrition and fitness.
Why do you want this?
And that will help you make better decisions.
So when you are faced with,
Should I do this?
Or should I not do this?
You can decide what your intention is,
What your purpose is behind it,
And choose accordingly.
So Brendon Burchard said it well,
And I love this quote,
This way of thinking about this.
First,
It is an intention,
Then a behavior,
Then a habit,
Then a practice,
Then second nature.
And finally,
It's simply who you are.
So even for me,
Meditation was hard at first.
Meditation was something that I struggled with consistently.
People ask me,
When did you start meditation?
I can't really pinpoint it because I tried and failed in my mind multiple times before I learned that I needed to just make it small,
Make it manageable,
Start feeling the differences.
And now when I don't do it,
I miss it.
If I don't have that space in my day,
I know between my scattered mind,
Mood,
Energy,
It all changes when I don't do this particular part of my day.
And so I've built myself up to that.
It is part of who I am.
But it took those things.
It took having an intention,
Making it a natural behavior,
Which became a habit,
And then a practice,
Because you have to practice,
You have to do it every day.
And then second nature.
So now I don't really,
A lot of times think about it,
I just do it.
And it's because I've trained my brain to know that it's helpful,
It's good for me,
It helps keep me in a positive space,
All the things.
So we've all heard that you can do anything for one minute,
Right?
So I invite you to make this commitment to yourself and answer the question,
Are you up for the challenge?
Are you up for the challenge of one minute of daily meditation for as long as it takes to be who you are?
And then you can grow and add and evolve your practice from there.
I hope that you found this helpful.
I'm here for you.
This is a journey.
It continues to be a journey even for me.
But there's so much,
So much power in it.
And I hope that you will accept my challenge,
Embrace it and feel the results.
