Why Doesnt Meditation Work For Me?

Why Doesnt Meditation Work For Me
In the office that I occupied, Peter sat on the other side from me, slouched over with his face in his hands. He remarked that the pressure was making it difficult for him to breathe. In spite of the fact that it was profitable, the pressure of managing his company on a daily basis was pushing him to the breaking point.

He was unable to take pleasure in the money he was making, he saw his wife and children very infrequently, and to top it all off, he wasn’t having too much fun.
Over the course of the last quarter, he had educated himself on the merits of mindfulness and meditation by perusing a variety of written works, including blogs, books, and articles.

Peter began his practice of meditation with a great deal of zeal in the expectation that it would prove to be the crucial factor that everyone had been claiming it would be. He meditated nearly every day for thirty to forty minutes, which was longer than what was indicated in several articles.

He was perplexed, thinking to himself, “Why wasn’t it working for me like the folks in the articles?” My question to Peter is the same question that I ask everybody who has a meditation practice, which is, “How is your meditation jumping off of your mat and into your life?” The research and the data on meditation have been presented to us.

We’ve read the majority of the same articles, books, and blog posts that Peter has, all of which extol the virtues of meditation and mindfulness, particularly for business owners. A image of a person sitting cross-legged at their workstation with their eyes closed and their thumbs and pointer fingers squeezed together is typically included alongside articles with titles such as these and articles such as the one you are currently reading.

Permit me to begin by stating that I am a convert, and I feel that mindfulness is the edge that business person has to have in order to take their game to the next level.
The practice of mindfulness has been the subject of a vast number of studies, all of which have come to the same conclusion: it not only makes you brighter and more creative, but it also physically enlarges your brain.

As if this were not enough, the practice of mindfulness may dramatically improve relationships at home as well as at work, reducing stress and anxiety while simultaneously boosting health and wellness in general. I’d like to be included in it! There is a good chance that the reason why your meditation practice isn’t helping you is because you haven’t been informed that meditation does not always involve awareness, and that mindfulness does not always involve meditation.

I’ll be the first to say that, given how similar the two techniques are to one another and how much they overlap, it may be rather perplexing. If you search either of those phrases on Google, you will see that people often use them interchangeably. Sitting or lying down while in a contemplative state is considered to be the most common forms of meditation; nevertheless, there are many more techniques to achieve a meditative state.

Choosing one point of reference, which is often the in and out breath, while being aware of the ideas and feelings that come up, and then returning the focus back to the breath is one method of practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness, on the other hand, is the practice of paying attention to one’s own thoughts and feelings in the present moment, not just in one’s own life but also in the world and while one is dealing with other people.

When we practice mindfulness, we stop reacting to whatever is going on around us and press the pause button on our responses.
In this place, we have the opportunity to evaluate the veracity of our thoughts and feelings.
We stop reacting in a reflexive manner and instead begin to think more carefully about the words and deeds we choose.

Mindfulness, which is closely related to emotional intelligence, enables us to reach deeper levels of compassion, empathy, and serenity. Ellen Langer, a psychologist at Harvard, has been conducting research on mindfulness since the early 1970s. She has published over two hundred research articles and eleven books on the topic.

According to Langer, you don’t have to meditate in order to be mindful; all you need to do is pay attention to new things in order to become aware of the here and now.
If you meditate frequently enough, the theory goes, you’ll train your mind to be more present in the here and now.
A consistent meditation practice may not be possible for an entrepreneur like Peter, particularly in the beginning phases of their venture.

We need to ask ourselves, “how is my meditation leaping off of the mat and into my life?” in order to take full use of the benefits that mindfulness and meditation have to offer. When I really could benefit from a mindful practice the most, do I find myself forgetting to engage in it? This is the step that Peter did not complete.

Peter started putting distance between his thoughts and feelings after receiving that guidance from me.
He slowed down and worked on evaluating the veracity of his ruminations as a technique.
By pausing to bring his attention to the present moment, Peter was able to prevent his body and brain from falling into a stress reaction involuntarily.

He claimed that engaging in mindful practice helped him break out of his catastrophic thinking and eased his fears about the future of his company. When he started practicing mindfulness not only on his meditation cushion but also in his everyday life, he noticed improvements in both his professional life and his personal happiness.

Why don’t people meditate?

“People don’t start meditation because they think it’s boring and demands patience,” says John Chisenhall, director and owner of DeRose Method Greenwich Village, a high-performance training firm that includes meditation as an element. “People don’t start meditation because they think it’s boring and demands patience,” says John Chisenhall. “That couldn’t be further from the truth if it tried.”

Do you feel like you’re failing at meditating?

Lifestyle The practice of meditation can be rather difficult at times. If you have ever tried to incorporate the practice into your life but “failed” soon after you started, I’m going to presume that the experience looked something like this for you: After you sat down in complete stillness, did your best to concentrate on your breathing, became frustrated because your mind wouldn’t stop racing for more than a few seconds, and eventually came to the conclusion that mindfulness is a bunch of bunk.

When you find that meditation isn’t beneficial to you, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you’re not “zen” enough for the practice and that you’re simply not suited to it for some reason or another.
Let me be clear: Meditation is something that everyone is capable of doing, even if you have attempted several times to sit down and do mindfulness practice without appearing to achieve any significant effects.

That does not imply that it is simple, but it does suggest that it is doable, and in all honesty, it simply takes some individuals longer to comprehend than it does other people. There is no true “wrong” or “right” approach to practice meditation; in order to reap the long-term advantages, you must just be patient and dedicate yourself consistently.

I can promise you that “failure” at meditation is not conceivable, despite the fact that you may feel as though you are.
If you get the impression that meditation isn’t helping you in any way, here are six considerations to bear in mind.1.
Let Go of All Your Expectations The reason why many people who are just starting out with meditation get the impression that it’s not working for them is because they go into it with a mental checklist of everything that “should” happen during their sessions.

For instance, if you assume that when you sit down to meditate, your mind should be absolutely empty, then you are probably going to be really frustrated when you find that it is still filled with odd thoughts even after you have completed the meditation.

Meditation is not about trying to exert control over your own mind; rather, it is about merely observing how things actually are and learning how to remain calm and collected in the presence of unpleasant feelings and ideas without being shaken or unsettled by them.
It may take longer for some people to discover the sense of serenity that mindfulness instills in you than it does for others to feel completely blissed out instantly after their meditation sessions.

It’s not about reaching perfection; it’s about getting better. My buddy, you should let go of your expectations and observe what unfolds.02 You might want to think about keeping your routine brief and simple. Hey, you — Stop convincing yourself that you “need” to meditate for thirty minutes every day in order to experience any positive effects from the practice.

As soon as you let go of all of the arbitrary restrictions that you’ve put around mindfulness, it will be a lot simpler for you to approach it with confidence and without that dreaded sensation of failing. Seriously, even just five minutes of meditation can completely alter your outlook and make a difference in the way the rest of your day goes.

It’s possible that if you stop forcing yourself to sit for much longer than you’d want, you’ll come to the conclusion that you do, in fact, want to know what the sensation of extended meditation sessions is like.03 Keep in Mind That Your Breath Is A Highly Effective Tool There is no one proper or incorrect method of meditating, and similarly, there is no one correct or inappropriate method of breathing.

Utilizing your breath as a tool to ease into each of your meditation activities will allow you to feel as peaceful and centered as is humanly possible.
This is the most important point to keep in mind on this topic.
An expert on meditation and mindfulness named Andy Puddicombe wrote in a blog post for the meditation app Headspace that taking a couple of deep, expansive breaths at the beginning of each meditation session helps ground the mind and set a restorative tone for your mindfulness practice.

Andy Puddicombe is the author of the book “Mindfulness in Plain English.” After that, though, you are free to take as many deep breaths as your itty-bitty heart fancies. Finding something that calms you uniquely is the most important thing.04 Try It Out In A Social Context It’s conceivable that you’re having problems committing to the practice of meditation on your own, which is preventing you from reaping the benefits of the activity.

And although practicing mindfulness is traditionally done on one’s own, participating in a group meditation session once in a while is surely not going to hurt, and it may even help you stay accountable as you figure out which methods are most effective for you.
And hey, you never know: maybe participating in a group meditation may motivate you to develop a mindfulness practice even when you’re alone at home.

You won’t even need to think about how to meditate since it will just come naturally to you.05 You might also try out some walking meditations. The difficulty that comes with sitting motionless is another obstacle that novice meditators could find discouraging and lead them to give up on the practice.

It is extremely difficult to remain still for even a short period of time, and the impulse to fidget with one’s clothing or scratch an itchy spot may be impossible to resist.
You might find that practicing meditation while walking is a beautiful way to ease into your practice and become more aware of your immediate environment.

Simply paying attention to the pattern formed by the sound of your feet striking the ground with each stride may help you feel more at ease and reassured throughout the day.06 Instead of striving to suppress your anxious thoughts, try to accept and work with them.

Because you can’t for the life of you get your mind to stay still, you can get the impression that your meditation practice is a failure. On the other hand, this is a very widespread fallacy regarding meditation: It’s not about shutting down your thoughts or preventing them from coming! A meditation practice is all about learning to notice your thoughts without criticizing them.

It is just about noticing what is going on up in your brain, and then letting it go when you have observed it. As soon as you give up the notion that you have any say in how your mindfulness practice unfolds, you will become aware of the fact that you have always been an experienced meditator.

Is there just one way to meditate?

Why Doesnt Meditation Work For Me Experiment, experiment, and experiment some more! Mindfulness, often known as the practice of fostering an awareness of and thankfulness for the present moment, has its roots in Buddhist psychology and dates back around 2,500 years. If this is something that humans have been doing for thousands of years, then it must be possible for me to do it as well, right? My initial contact was with Lodro Rinzler, who is the chief spiritual officer of MNDFL, which is New York City’s first drop-in meditation studio.

They have 30 different professors, all of them have unique pedagogical approaches. His take? “I don’t believe it’s that meditation isn’t for you. Maybe it’s simply that TM isn’t for you.” (I don’t think it’s because meditation isn’t for you.) He went on to say, “It’s just like this.” “Someone believed that I would be brilliant at playing the violin and presented it to me when I was a child with the accompanying comment.

I gave it a shot for a few months, but ultimately decided that it wasn’t for me. But perhaps if someone had said, “Here’s a violin, a piano, drums, and a guitar,” I might have been more likely to find an instrument that resonated with me and continue playing it.” Rinzler suggested that I begin my meditation practice with walking meditation due to the fact that I have an active mind and enjoy being physically active.

He instructed me to be conscious of the movements of my body, the rhythm of my footfall, and the way in which my feet moved through the environment around them.
I gave it a shot on my way to and from work every day, and although I wish I could say that it was a tremendous success, the reality is that I was still able to experience boredom and that I missed listening to music.

In spite of this, the reassurance that there is more than one approach to meditation that I received from a master helped me feel better about continuing my quest to find my own particular meditation groove. You should also bear in mind that if you suffer from anxiety, you may not find success with meditation.

Is anyone capable of meditation?

When you find that meditation isn’t beneficial to you, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you’re not “zen” enough for the practice and that you’re simply not suited to it for some reason or another.
Let me be clear: Meditation is something that everyone is capable of doing, even if you have attempted several times to sit down and do mindfulness practice without appearing to achieve any significant effects.

I can promise you that “failure” at meditation is not conceivable, despite the fact that you may feel as though you are.
If you’re having trouble getting anything out of your meditation sessions, have a look at these six things to keep in mind.1.
Let Go of All Your Expectations The reason why many people who are just starting out with meditation get the impression that it’s not working for them is because they go into it with a mental checklist of everything that “should” happen during their sessions.

Meditation is not about trying to exert control over your own mind; rather, it is about merely observing how things actually are and learning how to remain calm and collected in the presence of unpleasant feelings and ideas without being shaken or unsettled by them. It may take longer for some people to discover the sense of serenity that mindfulness instills in you than it does for others to feel completely blissed out instantly after their meditation sessions.

As soon as you let go of all of the arbitrary restrictions that you’ve put around mindfulness, it will be a lot simpler for you to approach it with confidence and without that dreaded sensation of failing. Seriously, even just five minutes of meditation can completely alter your outlook and make a difference in the way the rest of your day goes.

Utilizing your breath as a tool to ease into each of your meditation activities will allow you to feel as peaceful and centered as is humanly possible.
This is the most important point to keep in mind on this topic.
An expert on meditation and mindfulness named Andy Puddicombe wrote in a blog post for the meditation app Headspace that taking a couple of deep, expansive breaths at the beginning of each meditation session helps ground the mind and set a restorative tone for your mindfulness practice.

And although practicing mindfulness is traditionally done on one’s own, participating in a group meditation session once in a while is surely not going to hurt, and it may even help you stay accountable as you figure out which methods are most effective for you.
And hey, you never know: maybe participating in a group meditation may motivate you to develop a mindfulness practice even when you’re alone at home.

It is extremely difficult to remain still for even a short period of time, and the impulse to fidget with one’s clothing or scratch an itchy spot may be impossible to resist. You might find that practicing meditation while walking is a beautiful way to ease into your practice and become more aware of your immediate environment.

Because you can’t for the life of you get your mind to stay still, you can get the impression that your meditation practice is a failure.
On the other hand, this is a very widespread fallacy regarding meditation: It is not about preventing your ideas from occurring or silencing them! A meditation practice is all about learning to notice your thoughts without criticizing them.