Should you be meditating? I dunno. Here's what it's done for me.

I have had a regular meditation practice since 2015, a time when I was deeply overwhelmed with work and life. I found the first book I could about meditation (it was Mindfulness in Plain English), read a few chapters, then started meditating a few days later: 10 minutes a day at first, then after a few weeks 15, then 20, 25, 30. Or maybe it was the Headspace app first. I don’t remember, and it doesn’t matter. All I know is that I’ve stuck with it—through some fits and starts—and it’s now a part of my life. 

Adam Grant, the renowned organizational psychology professor and author, talks about the lack of a scientific consensus on whether meditation “works,” and about how people who meditate are awfully preachy and annoying about something ultimately unproven. In his article, "Can We End the Meditation Madness?" he concludes, "Evangelists, it’s time to stop judging. The next time you meet people who choose not to meditate, take a deep breath and let us relax in peace."

So, first off, I'll say this: meditate or don't meditate, either is ok. Here is what a daily meditation practice has provided me: 

1. I take things a little less personally. Daniel Coyle, in a "Talent Angle" podcast to promote the Culture Code, talks about our “second job” at work, which is worrying about and protecting our status. As a result of my mindfulness practice, I tend to give myself some time off from that second job. I think I come to work in a slightly less self-referential frame of mind. I can remind myself that almost all situations are “not about me.” And at the times I’m able to do that, I’m able to be more present for others and probably, in turn, more helpful. 
2. I am better at being with change. Without getting too “woo woo,” when you sit for long enough just observing stuff (a ringing phone, an itchy nose, a difficult conversation you had replaying in your head), you realize that everything is really, actually always changing. It arises, you look at it, and passes away. When I, in turn, experience that things at work are changing (by the company’s choice or circumstance or both), well, of course they are. Everything’s changing, and what we can best control is how we deal with that change. 
3. I’m a little bit nicer. Part of my practice includes something called “lovingkindness” meditation which is basically a practice of sitting and silently, intentionally wishing people in your life well. When I get a prickly email, I now find myself thinking more often: “Hold up, let me read that again with the most generous interpretation, both of what they meant, but also about what sorts of pressures they might be under right now.” Put differently, I think I give more of a shit about other people. 

In short, I think my meditation practice makes me better. And I’m glad I have it. If you'd like to dip your toe in, drop me a line, and I can tell you about some good resources to get started.