I never thought I'd be writing a post about meditation, I’ve always had a driven “type A” personality. I went through life always doing, doing, doing.
And multitasking.
Despite the research on the ineffectiveness of multi-tasking, I was never satisfied with doing just one thing at a time. I always had multiple projects going at the same time, volunteering for multiple committees, running from one commitment to the next. In between, I would listen to music or podcasts in the car, watch tv whilst doing housework and read in every waiting room.
The idea of spending time just sitting in silence in order to increase productivity seemed insane! (And boring!)
My multiple to-do lists needed attention! How could I stop, and what would happen if I didn’t fill that silence with a book or a podcast?
The first time I tried meditation I spent the whole time feeling anxious about all the things I wasn’t doing at that moment. The 10 minutes I spent listening to a guided meditation felt like an hour. Like an hour of wasted time.
But I’d done my research. The benefits of meditation were many and proven.
So I persisted. And I started to notice a change.
Being an entrepreneur is hard. The constant lack of certainty, the pressure to succeed, the people dependent on you.
Meditation is the superpower you are missing!
Meditation has many benefits. But if you’re running your own business I’ve found the following four have made a huge impact on my ability to succeed.
Meditation can help you to:
1. Tune out that little voice in your head.
We all have that little voice in our heads that constantly questions whether what we are doing is worth it. Will it work? Is it too risky? Do we have what it takes to succeed? Are we smart enough, savvy enough, resilient enough? Or you come up with every worst-case scenario possible for why your idea will never work.
While there is a time and place to question, research, and make informed decisions, the constant stream of chatter in our heads is not helpful and can be overwhelming. Especially when you’re running your own business!
Meditation teaches us that the thoughts we have are just that: thoughts.
They are neither good nor bad, right or wrong. They are simply thoughts that the mind has created. Meditation teaches us how to separate ourselves from our thoughts, giving our thoughts less power over us and enabling us to continue the entrepreneurial journey with more clarity.
2. Find joy in the moment.
Mindfulness meditation teaches us to focus on the present moment, recognising that only this moment in time is real. Everything else has either already happened or may never happen.
So often our thoughts are consumed with our past (that we can’t change) or the future (that we can’t control). Learning to focus on the present moment allows us to slow down and anchor ourselves in the present. We experience the joy of the present more fully and more often instead of dwelling on the past or fearing the future.
3. Create space for decisions.
By learning to distance from your thoughts and anchoring yourself in the present, the practice of meditation creates space for clarity of thought and clear decision making.
4. Renew your energy.
This came as a surprise to me. I’ve often heard people say that 10 minutes of meditation is as good a nap. Never having been a fan of napping I’ll have to take their word for it. But I was shocked to discover that after 10 minutes of meditation I felt remarkably more alert, less burned out and had completely renewed energy to tackle those tasks I dreaded the most.
Try it next time you have a post-lunch slump!
How I Started
The first time I really understood what meditation was about happened when reading Dan Harris’s book 10% Happier. In it, Dan describes his journey to finding meditation. And it provided me with the most tangible description of what goes on in your head when you begin meditating.
Many books and courses on meditation use terms that are common knowledge for those familiar with meditation but mean absolutely nothing to a “newbie” like I was. Dan’s book took all the mystery out of meditation.
Then I picked up The Happiness Plan by Dr Elise Bailylew.
This book is brilliant for explaining and guiding you through meditation, especially if you require some cold hard evidence before embarking on this journey. The book comes with a link to guided meditations you can listen to to get you started. Listening to these guided meditations took the rest of the mystery out of the process for me. After that, it’s just about practice.
How you can get started
1. Decide when you will meditate and for how long
(e.g. “I will meditate after I finish my lunch, every day, for 15 mins”)
If you haven't meditated before...
2. Find some guided meditations
You can find these on YouTube, through a resource like Dr Elise’s book, or through one of the many meditation apps (Smiling Mind or Bloom are two examples).
3. Incorporate mindfulness into everyday activities
Mindfulness is being present and engaged in the current moment. For example, if you’re drinking a cup of tea, you could be thinking about what you need to do next or remembering a conversation with your mother last night.
Or you could practice mindfulness by focusing your attention on the taste of the tea, the feel of the tea on your tongue and in your mouth, the feel of the warm mug on your hands, etc.
4. Give it time
You won’t see dramatic effects overnight. Don’t expect it. Meditation has been shown to rewire the brain. The effects are overwhelmingly positive but take time to take hold.
Have you tried meditation? What’s worked for you? Let me know in the comments below.
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Further Resources:
10% Happier by Dan Harris
The Happiness Plan by Dr Elise Bailylew
The Mindfulness Solution by Ronald D Siegel (This book goes into lots of detail about how to apply meditation practices to different areas of difficulty in your life and demonstrates how to practically meditate in those situations.)
Calm app
Smiling Mind app
Bloom app
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