“Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It’s a way of entering into the quiet that’s already there.”
-Deepak Chopra
If you’ve ever made an excuse not to meditate, it was most likely one on this list! You know the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of meditation, and that it can be done anytime, anywhere, by anyone (and did I mention it’s free?). So, yes, excuses are just that – excuses! Let’s take a look at the top four and break a few of those barriers:
1. There is a right way to meditate.
As long as you show up to practice, you are meditating correctly! Although there are different types of meditations that produce different effects, any dedication to a mindfulness practice will have benefits. This is why it is so important to keep experimenting with different types and ways to meditate until you find what works for you. Meditation apps like Insight Timer, Calm, and Headspace (to name the top 3) provide exposure to a variety of practice types and can be a great way to get started.
2. Meditation is about clearing the mind.
Thoughts are not the enemy. As long as you are human, thoughts will enter the mind – even during meditation. The goal is not to eliminate them. Rather, the key is to observe a thought from a nonjudgmental place, and let it go with gratitude and love. Then return to the moment, using whatever grounding technique that works for you (following your breath, observing a candle, repeating a phrase, etc). It’s like a rep at the gym. One rep is better than none, but in order to get the body you want, consistent repetition is key. If you sit for ten minutes to practice meditation, and only “clear the mind” for one second – you still derive benefit. The greatest benefit is gained by meditating regularly – that’s why it’s called a practice.
3. “I have no time to meditate.”
As someone who relates to this statement, meditation actually has the ability to turn a feeling of endless busyness into a reality filled with opportunities to pause. It sounds counterintuitive, that when you are so busy the most important thing to do is stop. But the benefits of meditation aren’t restricted to the time meditating. The more you meditate, the more you see the benefits outside the practice in your everyday life. Solutions start to appear where they didn’t before. Stress becomes easier to manage. Joy becomes the state of being, and gratitude can flow easily. As a result, taking a few minutes a day to pause can make you more productive in the long-run.
4. “I don’t like to meditate.”
This may be true. I often hear comments like this the same way I do for movement and nutrition – “I don’t like to work out”, or “plants don’t taste as good as animals.” The only requirement is curiosity strong enough to inspire you to try. There are many ways to meditate just like there are many ways to move and many ways to make a plant taste great. Just keep exploring different options with an open mind, and something will eventually resonate with you. In contrast, going into the process with pre-determined resistance will guarantee that any meditation you try sucks. Finding the right way to enjoy a habit change reminds me of a saying from Alcoholics Anonymous – “AA meetings are like bars. You keep trying all of them all until you find the right one.”