Today I am going to talk about MEDITATION. No no… please don’t run away! Many people make the task of meditating out to be as scary as lions and tigers and bears… but rest assured, I too thought about it the same way! I thought only “hippies” meditated. But after reading about and studying the daily practices of successful people… meditation became a common recurring theme. Now with the growing following (and venture capitalist investments) in meditation apps like Headspace and Calm, I only see the practice of meditation becoming more and more of a common daily routine for people.
Headspace’s EPIC Breakdown of Making Meditating Easier
This video Headspace.com created is the best analogy for meditation! I love their comparison of your mind/thoughts to passing cars on a busy road. Don’t try to STOP the traffic. Don’t try to analyze every passing car. Learn to sit on the side of the road and let the cars (your THOUGHTS) pass on by.
My Daily Practice
1. Start your Day with “Thank You” + MorningEnvy.com
“You can’t have what YOU want until you’re grateful for what YOU have.” – Justin O’Brien, Coursenvy.com Founder
Hey, you woke up… say THANK YOU! By saying or thinking this simple thought first thing every day, you will put yourself in a state of gratitude. Tony Robbins starts every day with gratitude! He says getting into a state of gratitude is necessary each and every day because of its ability to overpower the dangerous emotions that can knock us off course throughout the day. “The two emotions that mess us up the most are fear and anger, and you can’t be grateful and fearful simultaneously. They don’t go together! And you can’t be angry and grateful simultaneously,” Robbins says.
Make GRATITUDE a focal point for you each day!
2. Journal for 5-10 Minutes
I call this my morning #BrainDump! These words should come with ease. Don’t FORCE 10 minutes of writing! Rather just let the words come naturally. This can include thoughts you’ve been having, your to do lists, your goals, and so much more! Quiet the “chatter” in your head and get it on paper. Simply create a Google Doc and name it “Daily Journal”. Bookmark a direct link to that Google Doc and place the bookmark tab in the FIRST position on your browser so you don’t forget to journal first thing every morning when you turn on your computer. Here’s what I include in my journal:
10 things I’m grateful for (being able to read, my family, a memory, a sunny day, being able to breathe, etc.)
Affirmations that remind you of your unlimited potential as a human being! Write what you are committed to, what your purpose is, what your vision is, and what your goals are (be specific and make goals actionable/measurable so you can see progress when you look back at this journal in the future). These daily affirmations will re-energize you to take the necessary actions to live the life you truly want! Make sure to write present tense affirmations. If you speak it/write it, it is true (so don’t say you are stressed!)
10 ideas… they can be ANYTHING! Business ideas. New inventions. Jokes. Etc.
Let go and forgive. Write down things you want to CHANGE for the better. Here’s an example: “Replace XYZ (i.e. money) is difficult, with XYZ is easy!”
3. Visualization
“Seeing” what you want in your life is crucial! Some people like using physical vision boards that they can see daily to remind them of what they want in their life. You can simply create a vision board in a Word doc with pictures you find online… or use a website like: https://dreamitalive.com
I personally just close my eyes and visualize my goals and what it will look like when I reach them. Be clear with your visions and visualize the exact experience you want (never visualize what you don’t want — focus on the positive!)
I do this in the shower daily. The shower is what I call “lost time” (showering, driving a car, exercise, etc.) This is the time that I am not being productive in my life or business (I guess I will smell better and someone will appreciate that!) I typically fill all my “lost time” with activities like visualization, audiobooks, or podcasts. You have to shower, so why not take a minute to visualize your goals?
Go to http://morningenvy.com for the ULTIMATE morning routine!
4. Read
If you have read any biographies or followed the advice of any successful people, READING is a common habit they all have! I personally have a Kindle e-reader that I read from every night. I have about 10 nonfiction books I am taking turns reading at any one time! The cool thing about Kindles is that you can email PDF files to your Kindle email address as an attachment in a blank email, then simply type “CONVERT” in the email subject field and Amazon will convert the PDF to a Kindle readable doc!
To get your juices flowing on what to read, I suggest reading book summaries first! My favorite sites for book summaries include:
Get Abstract – The world’s largest library of business book summaries. Expand your business knowledge with 5-page summaries that you can read in 10 minutes or less.
5. Exercise
The dreaded word… EXERCISE. As a general goal, you should aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. This doesn’t mean sweating, huffing and puffing wind sprints followed by power cleans. This can be as simple as a brisk walk, riding a bike, doing push-ups and sit-ups, etc. I personally like to burn some calories while I work with my standing desk (more info here).
When I am really pressed for time, I like to take advantage of HIIT exercises (high-intensity interval training). HIIT is a form of interval training consisting of cardiovascular exercise with alternating short periods of intense anaerobic exercise and less intense recovery periods. HIIT is the concept where one performs a short burst of high-intensity (or max-intensity) exercise followed by a brief low-intensity activity, repeatedly, until too exhausted to continue. Check out this 6-minute HIIT workout I do when I am in a time crunch but still NEED to workout for the day:
Now It’s YOUR Turn!
Have you started to experiment with these daily practices yet? Do you suggest another meditation app? What results are you seeing? COMMENT below!
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