OUR LIVES DON'T LIE

Our lives don't lie.

When I was competing to win world titles, I prided myself as one of the most competitive humans on the planet—focussed, intense, driven to succeed, at all costs. When a peer suggested I learn to meditate, I honestly thought he had lost his mind. What if I become too relaxed, too peaceful, too accepting? I had achieved incredible success despite my investment in fear, pain, suffering and struggle, so why do anything differently?

If you are a competitive person, highly ambitious or fiercely driven to succeed, you may believe meditating will soften you or diminish your competitive edge. This is a common apprehension among people who value hard work and achievement because there is a good chance you are subconsciously invested in the struggle, believing success has to be hard.

If you want to know what you believe, take a look at your life. Our lives don’t lie.

After some resistance, I honoured his recommendation and committed to a 10min practice, every day, for the following week. The results were astonishing. Initially, I recognised the wild nature of my thoughts. They were running at a million miles an hour like a hamster in a wheel! Our thoughts determine how we feel, which in turn determine how we behave and ultimately the results we produce. What we think, we become. My thoughts and feelings vacillated from positive to negative, from fearful to accepting, visualising winning and losing and everything in between. It was manic!

Side note; If you believe your mind has to be lucid and silent while you meditate, this is a common misconception. Asking your brain to stop thinking is like asking your heart to stop beating. Thoughts are normal, but it’s our response to them that changes over time.

My most significant shift was how I felt within myself. It became an effective way to manage my nerves, identify my negative or self-sabotaging thoughts and replace them with positive self-serving visualisations, making me a more calm, focussed and resilient competitor and person. My meditation practice became my competitive edge and played an impactful role to securing my 7th world title.

As our mindfulness practise builds, we develop new skills and capacities. We cultivate the power of concentration so we can focus more intently and increase productivity. We learn how to slip into a state of flow so we can access more in-depth sources of creativity. We become calmer and clearer, so we can prioritise more effectively. And we learn to let go of our fixation on outcomes, so we relax into our goals, take risks with greater ease and enjoy the process.

Meditation will not unplug your ambition or diffuse your work ethic. It doesn’t fundamentally change who you are. What it will do is give you new forms of energy and sources of motivation so you will pursue your goals, ambitions and life in a more healthy, sustainable, effective way.

If you are interested in becoming a happier, more confident and productive person, join me at our transformational Mind Body Surf Retreat in Manly from sept 24-27. We will be exploring the benefits of mindfulness, introduce you to a nourishing daily yoga practice, boosting your confidence and surfing ability and indulging in delicious food and healthy conversations.

www.mindbodysurf.com

*This post is inspired by my Daily Calm meditation presented by Tamara Levitt on the Calm App.