3 Reasons Why People Give Up on Meditation (And What to Do Instead)

In the last few years, meditation and mindfulness have become all the rage.

Conceptually, we know and understand the benefits of meditation — it can help us manage stress, enable us to live more in the present moment and reduce anxiety, amongst other things. Despite knowing this, it’s easy to find excuses when it actually comes time to meditate.

After building up my meditation practice for the last seven years and encouraging others to build theirs, I’d like to share with you 3 reasons why people give up on meditating, how you can avoid making the same mistakes and what to do instead.

1) You think you don’t have time to meditate

We’re all given 24 hours a day and we all have 5 minutes to spare to meditate. The truth is — we’ll make time for something, as long as it’s a priority.

Pro Tip: To counter the notion that you don’t have time to meditate, I encourage habit stacking, the practice of pairing a new habit with an existing habit. For example, tack on 5 minutes of meditation after you brush your teeth in the morning.

2) You think you’re not meditating correctly because as soon as you sit down to meditate, you’re bombarded with thoughts

This is normal! Even the most seasoned meditators will have thoughts pop up as they’re meditating. They only seem like they’ve mastered the art of meditating because they look peaceful and serene on the outside.

Pro Tip: Recognize that it’s absolutely normal for thoughts to arise when you meditate. The key is to notice that the thought has arisen (in a non-judgmental and neutral manner) and?choose?to let the thought go and return to your breath. Understand that meditation takes practice, which is why it’s called a meditation practice. Meditation is the practice of returning to the present moment, over and over again.

3) You meditate a few times, feel like nothing has changed, and conclude that “it isn’t working”

When I first started meditating, my sessions didn’t seem to relieve stress. Instead, they felt stress-inducing because all of a sudden, I was sitting down to be with myself and I was flooded with a deluge of thoughts.

Through years of building up my meditation practice, I’ve learned to let the thoughts go and return to my breath. Somewhere along the way, I realized I could apply this concept to my life — when random thoughts arise throughout the day (many of which are negatively skewed), I don’t have to engage with them.?I can choose to focus on my breath and anchor myself back into the present moment.

Pro Tip: With anything in life, consistency is the name of the game. Long-lasting results don’t come to fruition when we do something once, twice or even ten times. Instead, they emerge when we stay committed to our practice, even when we seemingly have nothing to show for.

May these suggestions support you on your meditation/mindfulness journey.

If thoughts lead you astray, may you come back to this moment, over and over again.

May you find peace, in the here and now.

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