Why Aren’t You Meditating?

I use to listen to the Tim Ferriss podcast regularly.  His guests were usually top performers in their respected field, whether it be business, entertainment, athletics, etc.  Ferriss’ job was to dissect these world class performers to see what made them tick.  Although many of the guests had different paths to success I started to notice that most of the guests practiced some form of meditation.

Coincidence? I think not.

Everybody wants the next productivity hack.  Everyone wants that certain something to push them to the next level.  Sometimes in our endless search for self improvement we look past the most simple approaches.

Meditation is a personal development tool that has been around for thousands of years.  It’s easy to learn.  It’s free.  Anyone of any age can do it.  The only requirement is the ability to breathe.

So why don’t more people meditate?

I’ve gone through periods of my life where I have meditated daily.  I have also gone through periods of my life where I have put off mediation all together.  Like going to the gym, sticking to a diet, or reading a book, it’s something that I know I should be doing, but for whatever bullshit reason I procrastinate to do it.

When it comes down to it there really is no excuse not to meditate daily.  It only takes 10-15 minutes of your time.  Even 5 minutes of meditation will have positive effects.  Everyone has 5 minutes.

“But I don’t know how to mediate.”

Not a good excuse either.  There are many different ways to meditate.  You can count breaths, repeat a mantra, or use a guided meditation.  But there really isn’t any need to overthink it.  You don’t have to go retreat or be able to sit in the lotus postion to meditate.

Do you have pillow?

Good.  Cross your legs and sit down on the pillow.  Straighten your back.  Fold your arms and place them in your lap. You can leave your eyes open or close.  Now breathe.  That’s the easy part.

The hard part is being able to focus on your breathe without letting your monkey mind run wild.  When I first started meditating it was a struggle to focus on a few breaths without getting lost in thought.  But after some practice I got better.

The key is patience.  Don’t beat yourself up if your having trouble stopping the thought vomit.  Just return to your breath whenever you notice your lost in thought.

Need a few more reasons to get into meditation?

Here’s a list of 76 benefits of meditation backed up by science.

Start Doing Nothing

After reading this post turn your computer or smartphone off.  You have been mindlessly surfing the internet for too long.  Trust me, nothing you read on Facebook will have as much of an impact on your life than the advice I’m about to give you.

Find a quiet place.  Sit down.  Do nothing.

For some this may seem like torture.  Even the mere thought of being away from one’s smartphone for 5 minutes is enough to induce a panic attack in the average westerner.

But trust me you’ll be just fine.

Just sit there letting thoughts pass.  There is no need trying to stop them. They may be loud at first but over time they will be like the faint sound of birds outside your window.  Soon there may even be silence.

Now stop wasting time and start doing nothing.