I challenged myself to meditate for 60 minutes a day, every single day, for as long as I could. And I did that for nine months, and it absolutely changed my life. Afterwards I was operating from a completely different place. Much more focused, centered, I had more gratitude, and more feeling of sense of support in my life.
One of my biggest challenges in getting myself on the cushion to meditation is doubt that It will help, doubt that it's working. This is ridiculous because I know intellectually meditation definitely helps with my mood and focus. So I know this doubt comes from a deeper place than just this intellectual.
While I am meditating, some of my biggest challenges is what I like to call “task oriented thinking”. This is thinking about the things I need to do and all the things that I don't want to forget to do. When this happens I name my thinking “task oriented thinking” and it will diminish to some degree. However, then I start going along in my meditation as if it is a task , checking off the steps. So then I become aware of this is sit with it, not judging it but quite aware.
As far as the doubt, there are some pretty impressive statistics. There's a study that was published in JAMA Network in 2020. In the study, healthcare professionals participated in five mindfulness trainings lasting 90 minutes each, they learned how to be mindful of their breathing, they learned body scan meditation, walking meditation, mindful eating, and their anxiety reduced by 45%.
Listen to this episode on any podcast app. “The Aware Mind”