Mindset - Meditation

I know what you might be thinking:

Meditation? What kind of psychobabble nonsense is this? I'm not a Buddhist, a vegan, a yogi, or someone whose favorite activity is sharing your feelings, so why the hell are you talking to me about meditation?

Well, here’s why... meditation makes you extremely mentally tough.

So, stop being closed-minded, get rid of your preconceived notions and embrace stepping outside your comfort zone.

Based on my personal experience and an abundance of academic literature, meditation works. Meditation has been proven, through hundreds of peer-reviewed studies, to significantly improve one’s resilience, mood, focus, calmness, rational thinking, and discipline. Meditation has also been proven to significantly reduce one’s stress, pain, fatigue, emotional reactivity, and panic response. So, bring an open mind and get ready to start meditating.

I’ll explain the neuroscience, types, and specifics of meditation, but for now, I just want to show you the basics of how to meditate so you can start practicing and experiencing meditation’s benefits.

Here I will explain how to perform mindfulness meditation (sometimes called breath-awareness meditation). I’m starting here because it’s the preferred method with the most scientific evidence supporting its efficacy, and the method that will also help improve your levels of mindfulness – a critical mental toughness tactic.

Question 1. How do I meditate?

1.     Assume your favorite meditation position. You can meditate in several positions – whatever floats your boat.

If sitting, avoid hunching over, which will impede the easy flow of oxygen up and down your airways. Sit up straight and place your hands in your lap, on your knees, or by your sides. Then... relax.

2.     Close your eyes.

3.     Take a minute or two to complete a “body scan.” Slowly note how each area of your body feels in that moment. Start at the top of your head and scan your way down to your toes. Objectively notice – but do not judge or react to (remember being non-judgmental from the mindfulness lesson) - all the sensations your body is feeling. For example: I see/feel the light on the outside of my eyelids. I feel slight tightness in my upper back. I feel the backs of my hands resting on my thighs. Or, I feel the wood floor under my feet.

4.     Breathe slowly, deeply, and correctly. A correct inhale is performed through your nose and has three steps (the same steps covered in the breath control lesson).

5.     Focus on the breath. This is the essence of mindfulness meditation. Instead of thinking about weekend plans or work, just focus on the sensation of the breath. Feel air come in through your nose. Feel your stomach and chest expand. And feel the air come out as you reverse the process. That's all you focus on, feeling your inhalation and exhalation.

Question 2. What about thoughts popping into my mind?

This is really important as this is where most people get confused, de-railed, or discouraged with meditation:

During mindfulness meditation, you should focus on your breath. You should not be thinking about other things.

HOWEVER, THOUGHTS WILL ABSOLUTELY POP INTO YOUR MIND.

Sometimes, especially when you’re starting, you will face a constant barrage of thoughts. Sometimes while meditating, you’ll snap to and realize you’ve been daydreaming for the past five minutes, or even that you’d fallen asleep. All of that is ok and 100% WILL happen. This is completely natural. Your mind is used to racing around, multi-tasking, and being overwhelmed. So, it won't suddenly become completely focused, quiet, and calm just because you’ve decided to start meditating. Remember, your mind is a work in progress. Along with this, there are two other really important things to keep in mind about thoughts popping into your mind:

1.     When you notice you’re thinking about something, simply redirect your focus back to the breath. Don't dwell on the thoughts. And don’t react to your thoughts by thinking, “oh no, I’m supposed to be meditating, why am I daydreaming about raccoons?” You are training yourself to be focused and calm at all times. So, don’t lose your cool. When your mind strays, simply and calmly notice that you’ve strayed, and return to focusing on your breath.

2.     While staying focused on your breath without a distraction is excellent, the act of bringing your focus back to the breath is an essential part of meditation. People very incorrectly think that you aren’t benefiting from meditation unless you maintain complete Zen-like focus with no distractions the whole time. Wrong. Totally wrong. Bringing your attention back to the breath is like the bicep curl of meditation. Each time you successfully bring your attention back from distraction to your breath, your mind becomes stronger and learns to focus and be disciplined. Each time you re-focus on your breath, you’re training your mind’s ability to return to a calm state amidst turmoil.

Think of it this way. It's phenomenal to always be 100% calm. Just the same, it’s phenomenal to be able to meditate without any distractions 100% of the time. However, there will be times in life when your calmness is shaken. When true chaos strikes, the minds of both mentally tough and mentally weak people will immediately fly into the panicky, stressed, flight-or-flight state. We are evolutionarily primed to respond this way. What separates the mentally tough from the soft is their ability to quickly override this sub-optimal natural response and rapidly get back to an optimum, focused, calm, stoic state. This is what you’re training when you bring your focus back to the breath: the ability to notice your mind is in a sub-optimal state and to quickly correct it.

So, don’t be discouraged when your mind wanders. That is part of the process. Just notice it has wandered and then return your focus to the breath.

Over time, you will get distracted less and less during meditation as your brain literally changes to make you a more focused, calm, present, and rational person.

Question 3. Where do I meditate?

For the first few months, meditate anywhere relatively quiet. Once you have some experience, it can be good to meditate in bustling places to see if you can still maintain focus, but that can be a bit much at first.

Question 4. When should I meditate?

Whenever you want. First thing in the morning, midday, before bed. Doesn't matter. Try out different times and see what best suits you.

Question 5. For how long should I meditate?

20-minutes a day – in one sitting – is the sweet spot. If you meditate 20-minutes per day at least 5 days per week, you will experience significant neurological changes. These changes will make you calmer, more focused, more rational, more positive, less emotionally reactive, and overall, much more mentally tough.

You can meditate for less time – the magnitude of the impact will just be smaller. Longer than 20 minutes is also fine, but there is no evidence you’ll experience drastically more benefits than you would just doing 20 minutes.

That's it. I know meditation sounds ridiculous to some people. I thought it was crazy too until I tried and experienced its effects. Larry Page – the co-founder of Google said: “All good ideas are crazy... until they’re not.”