Bonus article for members of the 28 Day Meditation Challenge.
So it’s the first few days of the 28 Day Meditation Challenge and there’s a chance you’ve not started yet.
Don’t worry – you’re not alone!
One of the things we often see at the online forum is people asking for help to get started. It can be tricky to overcome the inertia and get started with making change, in any area of life.
It’s as though the first day of meditation has become a really big thing for us. As human beings, we’re pretty good at building up the proverbial molehill to the size of a mountain.
What’s going on? And what can you do about it?
Firstly, there’s a good reason why the 28 Day Meditation Challenge only asks you to commit to 10 minutes a day. That’s because it’s achievable!
Just imagine: if the phone were to ring right now, chances are you would answer it and somehow find 10 minutes to handle that call.
If you can do it for an unplanned phone call, you can do it for a pre-planned meditation session.
Secondly, it’s worth a look at the reason you’re putting it off.
A common scenario is that people haven’t chosen a time. They rush through their day, with the usual panics, dramas and stresses, thinking, “I’ll start it in a while, when I’ve done such and such. ” Then we get to the end of the day and it hasn’t happened.
What’s really happening here is that the person hasn’t made the commitment. They haven’t made the choice to do their meditation.
Perhaps they’re a little afraid of starting the new habit? Perhaps they have unwittingly built the challenge up to be too big a deal in their mind? Perhaps they’re convinced that they have more important things to do? (Fortunately the messages, over the 28 days, help you deal with all of this – and more!).
What’s the solution?
If you realise that you are putting your meditation off, how about stopping, just for a moment, to really think about this challenge and what it means to you.
If you can manage to meditate for 10 minutes each day (which you can!), just imagine what it could do for your day-to-day experience of life? Remember your ‘why?’ from the beginning of the course? Imagine actually achieving that!
Here’s what one of the students in the online forum said to herself, in just this situation:
“I thought, “Right, I’ve got to start somewhere and I AM going to start now!”. Then I just sat myself down and clicked the link in my message and got on with it. “
Choosing to meditate for ten minutes really isn’t as hard as it seems, especially if you’re choosing to use the MP3s that come with this course.
It really does make you feel more relaxed and calmer at the end of it. Within just a few days, you’ll find yourself looking forward to your meditation space.
Over at the forums, you’ll see testimony to the fact that people benefit, even from day one: “If this is how I feel after my very first attempt, I can’t wait to see how I am at the end of the challenge!”
If procrastination is your thing, then remember the famous sports brand’s slogan – and just go and do it!
If you’re rushing, with too much to do, but you want to meditate – you know your ‘why?’ – then prioritise it. Make it an appointment in your schedule. Don’t allow yourself to compromise. It’s ten minutes, not an hour. You can do this!
Take that first step. Do it now. Usually, whatever else we feel is more important will wait.
It’s not a big deal. You can’t ‘get it wrong’. Just focus on today – not the whole 28 days.
Remember: the choices you make in this present moment will shape your future.
How about doing something, right now, that your future self will thank you for?