Take a Deep Breath

I’ve struggled for a few years now to be diligent with getting into mediation. “Where do I find the time?” I am an early riser. I usually get up around 5:30. It’s the best time to get in a workout while there are no family or work commitments. So if I wanted to meditate it’d mean an earlier start. Which would mean a 9 pm bedtime. Which would mean hardly any downtime with the misses. Which would mean I’m not earning any brownie points. You get the point. 

You will never “find” time in your day for things, you have to make time. Here's some tough love for you. If you’re not making time for something then you don't see the value in it. 

Starting is hard, I get it but just do it. Everything in your life has to have a “day one”. The best part about "day one’s" is, from that day on whatever you tried will never be that hard again. 

During the past month (or more) I've had clouds of stress and anxiety over me a lot. I've tried a few outlets. Going for long walks is great. Lifting heavy weights is even better. I feel good after those. I do them almost every day. 

But, neither helps me fall asleep at night. Neither helps me go back to sleep when I wake up at 3 am and the monkey brain kicks in.

I was desperate and had to try something else. Meditation was that thing. But it wasn’t going to be easy and I needed my coach to hold me accountable. She helped me start small.

“What was the shortest length I could commit to?” 10 minutes seemed doable. Who can’t find 10 minutes somewhere in their day?

“When would be the easiest time of day to find 10 minutes?” Right before bed. Going to bed 10 minutes earlier or 10 minutes later wouldn’t rock my world too much.

“How many days a week was the easiest number to commit to?” Three seemed ok.

So I started my “day one”.

I hit a solid 3-week streak doing it 3 times per week. I then did a couple of 4-a-weeks. I was doing great! 

Then fell off the wagon. Right before I was about to start seeing the benefit. And, waking up at 3 am with a noisy brain came hurtling back. It took me about a week to actually realise I had learned to quiet it a little but now I was back to square one.

I took a deep breath (literally) and I started again. 

I forced myself to do 15 minutes of guided meditation each morning. Before coffee. Before I check emails. Before I look for job responses.  It was important to meditate before any negativity or distractions had the chance to come into my day.

Different styles of meditation work for different people. It’s important to start, try and experiment. I find it difficult to sit in silence with my thoughts. So I use guided meditation. Music in the background and a calm, awesome human distracting my brain. 

As with a lot of things right now, I am still early on this journey. But I’m committed because I know the value it will bring. Especially during challenging times when negative, noisy self-talk is rampant. I am confident in the compounding power of meditation. 

There are hundreds of meditation apps out there. I use Insight Timer. They offer hundreds and thousands of free meditations. You can tailor them to your needs (which you’ll learn and develop over time). I also know a few awesome people who work there and I love what they’re doing.

Get started. Have your day one. 

Let me know how you get on. If you’re a week or two down the road and haven’t started let me know. Let’s do a session together.

Namaste

What I’m reading

How to Train Your Dog - Jen & Ryan TateIn preparation for an exciting end of the month for our family!

What I’m listening to

Sheila Heen on Tim Ferriss’s podcast - How to Navigate Hard Conversations.I’m only 45 minutes in but already have a page full of notes.

What I’m watching

I don’t watch much TV at all these days but my wife and I are watching 9 Perfect Strangers on Amazon Prime. It’s very weird but kept me coming back for more. Definitely recommend it for something different.

Lastly, I’m sharing something beautiful from my week

Taken at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia.

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