Meditation can be a fulfilling and powerful skill we do in our lives. There are proven benefits for our mind and body. From anxiety reducing ability to overall improvement of health and wellness. All this results in better focus.
Habits of Mindful People
Like all habits you focus on, start with regular, consistent, daily doses in short durations. Gradually build up to longer periods of time. Check out the many methods, apps, and books available until you find one you enjoy.
How to Add More Mindfulness To Your Life
Begin to meditate by setting aside time each day making it a priority. Include this in existing habits for better results. Commit to this process for the long term. You may struggle with distractions and other obstacles. Those who commit are more mindful and focused. It is a marathon and the greater benefits come with practice and persistence.
Get your body ready by taking deliberate deep breaths to slow your heartrate. Feel your physiology relax and let your mind focus on the present. I prefer to meditate after exercise because my muscles are relaxed and the tension is out of my body. While breathing, get your body ready by stretching the areas of tension. Reconnect the body with the mind.
Secrets of Meditation
With meditation you should have a purpose of what you are trying to accomplish. Do not just jump into it. Envision what and how you will feel and focus on the process. Try to listen to what your heart is saying or focus on that conversation with your Creator. You decide your focus and purpose. I teach visualization and for some people they go to a peaceful place. Right before I take an assessment, deliver a briefing, or officiate a baseball game, I visualize a perfect performance. Many performance coaches and sports psychologists use visualization with professional athletes. This has been documented as a performance enhancement skill.
Let go of monitoring your results. This is not a competition and you should not measure performance on the act of meditation. Relax and enjoy the present moment. Many people’s lives are out of balance. They worship their work, work at playing, and play at worshipping. Dr. Gary Collins talks about getting back to a balanced life by pouring ourselves into work, then letting go and fully playing, when it is time for worship to be fully focused on God. I mention his work because meditation can help get back to a balanced life. Much of our lives are results driven.
“People think meditation is a huge undertaking. Don’t think of it like that.” – Deepak Chopra
If frustration kicks in, let it go. Mind drifting can be beneficial. As you notice the mind drifting bring it back slowly. You are exercising the mind and strengthening it. Muscles are strengthened by resistance and so is the mind. Have a secret place where you can relax without the interruption of a hectic life. Start meditating in the morning before you get your day started. You will not have as many things running through your mind. That does not mean you cannot attempt meditation at any other time.
Whatever works for you, make sure you do that. You may lose enthusiasm after some time and sometimes hectic lifestyles get in the way. As you notice this habit slowly disappear re-engage by remembering your purpose and goal. This life skill has been one of the most beneficial in my life when it comes to mindfulness and focus. I hope you enjoy a greater life balance full of mindfulness.
This is so important, Kirby. Clearing the mind and being able to focus on what is ahead is an amazing thing, and meditation is one of the best ways to achieve this.
Thanks Adam. It’s a great mood booster and leads to better productivity.
For those who meditate, mediation makes sense (as for those who do anything with regularity, that activity and all that’s involved make sense). However, I wonder if, for those looking in without any knowledge or experience, if they interpret the words the same way. I imagine it would be somewhat how I feel when I hear kids talking about a video game they both play regularly; they talk about characters, goals, weapons, achievements and get very excited about all of this – while I am completely lost.
This post did a good job of offering to people WHY they might want to incorporate meditation. But for those who have no prior experience, I wonder if they will come away knowing HOW. You said this, Kirby: “Check out the many methods, apps, and books available until you find one you enjoy.” Perhaps adding a few links to resources would give people in the “complete novice” category an easier starting point, and therefore motivation to take one more step. I just fear that busy people – the people who need meditation most – may not know where to start in researching meditation techniques, apps, etc., and so may just feel overwhelmed and move on without taking any action. Links to some solid recommendations may get them one step closer to trying it out. (Maybe some of those recommendations could make for a future post.)
Thanks for the comments Erik. I have had some experience with a few different forms of meditation. There are so many shapes and sizes of this life enhancing skill that it goes on infinitely. To begin its really hard to point out because of the many backgrounds, beliefs of people. I once participated in a Tai Chi class when I was trying to recover from a major back injury years ago. It was designed and modified for those who had arthritis. However the amount of mindfulness and focus in the class really was benefical and drew me into meditation a little more. I’ve tried a few other things but I would suggest people follow their curiosity. I also wrote a previous post that list several options to pick from if someone is looking for a starting point. http://asmithblog.com/meditation-blow-productivity/