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Today we’re handling the #1 meditation excuse – there’s no more running from it 😉
It is…. drum roll…

“I don’t have enough time!”

It’s time to dive in, deal with it, and just get meditating!

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” bg_position=”left top” bg_repeat=”no-repeat” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left”][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text][heading]How are you getting on so far?

Have you had a chance to meditate yet? How have you been finding it?

How did you get on with the ‘Big Why’ exercise from yesterday? Can you feel how it could help you to stay motivated? Not knowing your ‘why’ is, in my teaching experience, the biggest reason why people don’t get started with their meditation habit.

Until you understand *** why *** you want to do something, it’s tough to find the motivation to do it.

Once you’re convinced by your ‘why’, the rest simply falls into place. 🙂

Could I tempt you to share your ‘big why’, over at the online group? I’d LOVE to hear from you![/heading][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

Today we’re going to dive in and discover how to magically create the time to meditate, no matter how busy you are, along with the best times and places to meditate – and how to use this to your advantage.

I don’t have enough time!

… It’s the #1 objection I hear from people when we’re talking about meditation.

And I’m going to let you in on a secret:

Pssst! Whether you think you have enough time, or you think you don’t, you’re right.

Chances are that your head is now spinning or you’re about to throw rotten tomatoes at me. Either is ok! (It’ll make a terrible mess of your computer screen if you throw the tomatoes and I remember being told, as a child, that if you spun your head round, it would fall off – so I wouldn’t bother with either 😉 ).

Is it really true that our lives are too full to find time to meditate?
It is true that we often believe that we don’t have time to meditate.
But there’s a difference between truth and belief.

We believe our stories and excuses, telling them to ourselves so often that they become a pseudo-truth that we no longer question – like ‘received wisdom’. We even start to believe in other people’s excuses! But is it really true?

It’s funny how, for example, if we fall in love, we suddenly find plenty of evenings and weekends to spend with that new person:

• we watch less TV
• we read fewer magazines
• we spend less time on chores
• we use our time more intentionally
• we drop anything that’s not essential

If we can do that for someone else, couldn’t we do it for ourselves?

Is it really too much for your mind, body and soul to ask for ten minutes of your time each day for something that can dramatically impact your life?

There are many ‘important jobs’ and distractions during the day that steal our time; things that crop up unexpectedly, where we give them our immediate attention. Everything else falls off the table, including our meditation. Yet if we said to those things, “I will come back to you later,” it’s amazing how they either go away or take up less time.

The classic example is a phone call.
You’re in the middle of something important, feeling really busy, but you answer the phone anyway. The conversation takes ten minutes. Then you go back to what you were doing.

You found ten minutes for the interruption.

So why do we find it so hard to find ten minutes to meditate…?

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I’m curious: what kind of things do you do in ten minutes in a typical day?

Are there other things that you could let go of, even just for a while?
How about brainstorming a list of things that you do during the day that might be wasting your time or that you could do a bit less of? Yes, right now!

Maybe you could watch ten minutes’ less television?
Maybe you could spend a few weeks choosing not to watch the news?
Or spend ten minutes less per day on Facebook?
Read your emails less often?
Or get someone else to do the washing up?
Or you could fit meditation in during your lunch break?
What could you let go of or rearrange about your day, to make time for just ten minutes of meditation?
Stuck for inspiration? How about asking your friends for ideas and asking for help with your top time wasters?
How are you going to find your 10 minutes to meditate today?

Have you got any tips or suggestions that you’d like to share? Want to find out how others are managing it?
Here’s where we’re talking about this: How do you find time to meditate?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][image_with_animation image_url=”11885″ animation=”Fade In” img_link_target=”_self” img_link=”https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152051609896238&set=o.419116104846908&type=3″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

Pick A Time That Works For You

One of the other key things for making time for meditation is picking a time of day that works for you.
Don’t try and fit meditation in when you are already really busy and you know you’re prone to interruptions. It might seem common sense, but it’s amazing how often we try that one.
For example, many people like to meditate first thing in the morning. But mornings can be very busy times, especially if you have to get to work or get the kids to school. To fit in your meditation at that time, either something needs to give, or you’ll need to get up earlier…

There is no right or wrong time of day to do meditation. Yes, there are ‘traditional’ times (such as early morning / sunrise / 4am!). However, it’s more important just to do your meditation, rather than worrying about when someone says you ‘should’ do it.
The best time is one when you know you have got a bit more control over your time, even if that is last thing at night when everybody else has fallen asleep and you are feeling tired.

There will be a ‘best time’ for you, in your life, with your schedule and commitments – though it might take a little experimenting to find it.

The fact is that, if we’re really honest with ourselves, ten minutes really isn’t very long… I strongly suspect there are very few of us who genuinely couldn’t find time for it, especially if we remember why it is that we are motivated to do it. (Remember yesterday?!) [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Bonus article:
And here’s a bonus article on how to get your family (or friends and colleagues) ‘meditation-fit’ – so that they support you and help you to find the time, as well as potentially holding you accountable:

Six Secrets For Training Your Family To Help You Meditate

And here’s a bonus video, on the right, from my Soul-Sized Wednesdays series, to help you magically create more time – I hope it helps you!

So how are you going to find your ten minutes to meditate today?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/ig0_aDY9a48″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]I hope you have found today’s instalment useful and that it has inspired you to carve out ten minutes to meditate.

I’d love to hear how you get on today.

I’ll be back tomorrow when we’ll look at the tricks your Monkey Mind plays, to stop you from meditating, and how to get around them, as well as what to do if you miss a day and – vital – acknowledging that meditation can ‘stir the pot’ of your emotions, I’ll share with you a beautiful technique you can use as what I call ’emotional first aid’.

See you there!

With love, Namaste,

P.S. If you’re serious about creating a long-term, life-changing, sustainable meditation habit and want to dive in more deeply, then you’ll love my 10 week meditation programme. In it, we cover the whole ‘how to find the time’ challenge in much more detail. We look at how to bust your meditation excuses, as well as how to spot those secret time-thief interruptions that get in the way, how to handle the distractions on your ‘to do’ list, how to turn every-day activities into a chance to practice meditation and even how to stop other people from stealing your meditation time.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]