Why I’ve Started Meditating Again
At the end of 2019 i set a new years resolution to meditate for at least 5 minutes a day for the full year.
I began that year full of hope. I was excited about 2020 and all the amazing things the year could bring. For the first time in a long time i had a clear sense of direction.
To go alongside that, i’d also recently decided that i would spend the entire year of 2020 free from alcohol. No booze whatsoever for 365 days. 52 weeks. As a 20 year old university student.
This feeling of hope and resolve to stay sober for the entire year culminated in a fresh and inspired mindset that was ready to try new things. I was ready to challenge myself; physically, mentally and socially.
With this, i decided i would also meditate every day, for at least 5 minutes.
I made this resolution for a variety of reasons.
- I’d read countless articles and watched innumerable YouTube videos that re-iterated the point that meditation was good for you. There’s an incalculable amount of resources that demonstrate the positive impact meditation has. Lowers Stress. Decreases Anxiety. Improves mood. Improves Awareness.
- I’ve long been interested in the spiritual side of life and wanted to see for myself what meditation had to offer. Meditation, as a practice, has been embedded in ancient religions and philosophies for millennia. From Buddhism to Hinduism to Islam, they all speak of the mystic properties that meditation can hold. I wanted to investigate this for myself and see if i could reach these altered states of consciousness for myself.
- I wanted to set myself a challenge. In a world filled with so many distractions and entertainment of any sort — music, film, audio books, games -at our finger tips, i think the hardest thing we can do is stand still and just think for a second. Truly, sitting still for 30 minutes a day is wayyy more challenging to me than doing an hour long intense workout. It takes real mental fortitude.
So with my reasons in my quiver, i drew my bow and planted an arrow in 2020. This was my year.
And for the first 3 months of 2020, i really did stick to my practice. I meditated almost every day with ranging success. I actually did start to form a positive habit.
And i did start to notice some positive impacts from my regular practice. I noticed my ability to sit on the mat and direct my attention to the meditation object improved. I noticed my mental flexibility and fluency increased. I noticed that i looked at tasks or challenges ahead of me less emotionally and with more reason. I had a better outlook on life.
I’ve always been a light sleeper too, but thanks to meditation i managed to improve this as well. Before, i’d struggle to get to sleep with an overactive brain that couldn’t stop thinking thoughts. After practicing meditation for around 2 months, i was astounded to notice that i could literally use my brain to ignore thoughts and drift into deep slumbers automatically. I was impressed at my own results.
I should of kept going as well. I really was starting to see results.
But then COVID hit. And i stopped.
I’m not exactly sure why but i do have a theory. I propose that when COVID hit, a sense of urgency overwhelmed me. I convinced myself that everything had to get done faster because i didn’t have enough time in the day.
Before long, i managed to convince myself that meditation simply didn’t fit in my busy schedule. I no longer had the time to refresh, relax and soothe my mind.
What a mistake that was. Before long, all those previously experienced benefits disappeared and i was back to regular old me.
But there’s no time to sit here and wallow in what could of been. I’m taking positive twist to this article.
I’m back now, i’m meditating again and i intend to continue for the entire year this time. No bullshit excuses. Speaking positive affirmations here. I will meditate for 2021.
So far i’ve meditated for 30 minutes for the past 5 days and i’m about to sit down on my mat for a further 30 after i finish writing and publishing this article.
This probably hasn’t been a super helpful article for anyone to read but if anything, it’s motivated me to sit down on my mat for another day.
So, all in all,
That’s Why I’ve Started Meditating Again.
