Why I Started Meditating and You Should Too...

Life tends to get a little hectic. Work, home, family life, its enough to make anyone a little crazy. As someone who works a full time job, maintains a few side hustles, volunteers, and stays active in a number of organizations, I'll be the first to admit feeling a bit overwhelmed. Sometime I wonder if all of this activity is just a distraction or actually meaningful to me at a deep level.

In my search for answers, I was fortunate to discover meditation. As I embarked on my journey to find peace and fulfillment, I initially discounted meditation as an empty activity designed for a select few on the path to so-called enlightenment. Isn't meditation for Buddhist monks? Who's got the time to sit in silence? I'm too busy. Does it work? Getting clarity on what meditation is and why you should add it to your daily routine is worth a few minutes of exploration.

What's the Purpose of Meditation?

As Socrates proclaimed "Know thyself" (the Oracle of Delphi) as providing greater insights into understanding human beings more than studying those outside yourself, meditation is all about developing deeper insights into who you really are.

We are bombarded with stimuli throughout the day. There is so much information being processed by our brains that it's hard to truly appreciate all that we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Millions of data points are being collected and processed to help us move throughout the day and function at a basic level not to mention excelling at our jobs (in the office or at home).

The purpose of meditation, from my perspective, is simply to slow down. In my mind, I picture meditation as an opportunity to get off the highway and slow down enough to enjoy the view. Instead of constantly focusing on the future or the past, you can look around and appreciate the present moment. This occurs not just during the time you're, but throughout your day.

Changing Your Set Point

As is true with any type of behavior modification, you can't do things once and expect a significant result. If you could go to the gym, pump some iron one time, and look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, then everyone would be "built". But the reality is you wouldn't want it that way. The things we work for are always more fulfilling and produce significant meaning. Meditation is the same way.

With practice, meditation slows your world down and gives you the opportunity to see things that others will never know. For me the biggest change has been around my set point. What used to make me angry no longer does. What used to upset me is now insignificant. And, people who used to annoy me simply have no affect on my joy or happiness. Meditation has changed the point where I feel negative emotions and has given me a much more optimistic viewpoint in many areas of my life.

Getting Started

This coming year is a great opportunity to seek greater fulfillment in your life. Unfortunately it won't fall from the sky or come in a little Tiffany blue box - at least not in the long term. Your peace of mind comes from inside and its within your reach. I was somewhat reluctant to start meditating because I thought it required a huge amount of time and had minimal impact. What I discovered was the opposite. For a small investment, you can have lasting and meaningful rewards.

The best approach is to do a little every day. It's like saving in a rainy day fund. Ten minutes, twenty minutes, whatever you're willing to do on a daily basis, will have a lasting impact. I recommend finding an app or recording online to guide your meditation (in the beginning). Search until you find something that resonates for you and commit to two weeks. See if it works for you.

Over time, you will notice a difference in how you react and interact with your environment. I'm confident that you will find the peace of fulfillment you're seeking if you look inward. It took me a long time to discover the fact that what we're looking for is already inside us.