For 2018, I’m doing a different goal every month. Here’s why: because I’ve never been able to keep the same New Year’s resolution for 12 months straight…haha! And this just seems like more fun to me, so I’m flowing with it!
In January, I decided to meditate every single day. I got interested in meditating after reading Jen Sincero’s book You Are A Badass and listening to The Lively Show podcast. Both of these sources talk about the INCREDIBLE results you achieve from taking a few moments each day to quiet your mind and listen to your intuition. It just takes 5 minutes a ay, so I figured I didn’t have much to lose…
And HOLY COW, you guys! I am SO excited about the results I’m seeing, feeling, and experiencing from the start of my journey on meditation! This is one of the monthly goals that I will definitely be continuing. Here are a few things I’ve learned this month:
1. Meditation is not complicated.
Sit down. Close your eyes. Focus on your breathing. There, you did it!
2. Any amount of time you can meditate is AWESOME.
Some days I would do a 15 minute meditation practice, but there were lots of days when I would just do 3 minutes. That’s it! 3 easy little minutes, and then I’d get on with my day with a clearer mind.
3. I think I was able to slow time through meditation.
(Not literally, ok?) January felt loooong to me, in the best way! I feel like I accomplished a lot this month, enjoyed each moment, made memories, set goals. Basically, I felt very PRESENT all month. That’s how I want to feel all the time!
4. Sometimes I would focus on something other than my breath, like a visualization.
Michael Phelps visualized every single one of his races. He visualized perfection, and he swam the way he imagined he would. Visualization is a powerful tool, even for those of us who aren’t professional athletes! Some days this month while I was meditating, I would imagine something I wanted, like a career goal. I would picture it so clearly, like I already had it.
5. You don’t “accomplish” something by meditating.
This was hard for me, because I’m the type of person who always wants to get my “gold star.” With meditating, it’s hard to track your progress, and you don’t necessarily see results quickly (although, you might!). The beauty of meditation is feeling calmer, clearer, and hopefully more aligned with your purpose.
6. I slept really well this month!
I’m 90% sure this is because of my meditation. Sometimes I would meditate twice in a day – once in the morning, and again at night. When I meditated at night, I would effortlessly fall into a deep sleep. That’s something I’ve NEVER been able to do!
7. I did the free trial 10-day trial for Headspace, but I didn’t pay for the monthly fee.
I’m wary to add more subscription services to my budget each month unless I feel that I really need it.. I already have quite a few going on, and I’ve noticed that once I start something, it’s hard to stop.
So I used the free Headspace 10-day trial, and while I really enjoyed it, I didn’t feel like it was necessary to my meditation practice. I chose to do the rest of the days of meditation on my own. I use the timer on the free app called Insight Timer, and I would occasionally use one of the guided meditations from the app, although most of them weren’t helpful for me. I didn’t like hearing a different voice every day.
I’m doing a separate goal every month so I can choose if it’s something that makes me a better or happier person. If it does, then I’ll keep doing that goal the next month.
Meditation is a clear “HELL YES” in my life! I’ve been continuing meditation into February, and I plan to keep challenging myself to meditate for at least a few minutes each day.
Ok, that’s January. If you want to check out all of the monthly goals, click here. I’m pretty nervous about May and excited about June! And now, moving on to February….
February goal: always have fresh flowers in my home.
Because we’ve already established that I’m the #frugalboo in this family, right? Haha. I’m wary to add extra “fluff” to my monthly budget. But flowers make me soooo happy, and February is a month of love. So I’ve decided that my goal for this month is to keep something in bloom every day!
Sounds pretty fun to me. 😉
Happy weekending, friends!
And if you get your flowers at Trader Joe’s, you can get BEAUTIFUL bouquets for as little as $4 and they last at least week! Just skip a latte out a few times, and it’s paid for!
So glad you gained so much from meditation! I’ve been happily coming back to yoga since the year started and it’s helped me get back into remembering how powerful a few minutes of meditation can be.
YES. So powerful! Anytime I think I don’t want to do it, I just remember all the amazing benefits from a measly 3 minute exercise….and then I go for it. And I’m always thankful I did!
[…] you’re curious about mediation, check out this blog post: “What I Learned From Meditating Every Day.” Also, the Headspace app is a great place for […]