Learn Your Flow

When starting something new there are always going to be days where you are either too busy or you just don’t feel like turning up. It is totally normal, and you are likely to face days like these whilst starting a daily meditation practice. Doing just one meditation may have an instant effect, but if you want long term results then practice is the key. But how do we keep up a daily meditation practice if you just don’t feel like it on the day? There are so many ways to improve motivation. So why not try some of these hints and tips to get you back on track and enable you to stick to the goals that you have set out to achieve.

• Put your goal where you can see it – Putting your goal somewhere you will see it every day will help to remind you of your goal. It can be anything from a note on your calendar, a postit note on the fridge, a motivational poster on your bedroom wall. It could be anything, so why not get creative and make your goal seen.

• Remember your why – Having a clear understanding of why you want to achieve a daily meditation practice as a goal, is great for improving motivation. If you have no reason for doing it, you are less likely to turn up for your practice every day. Also, without a reason for your practice you will find that other activities will seem more important.

• Track your progress – Sometimes it is difficult to see how far you have come, which can lead to the question “what is the point?”. If you find a system, whether it is writing a journal, or ticking each day off on your calendar, it will help you to see the benefits of your hard work and in turn it will help you to stay motivated.

• Let someone know – If you can talk through your goal with a family member or a friend it helps motivation by being accountable. You are more likely to stick to your daily meditation practice if you know that someone may ask you how it is going. But it is also good to share when you are struggling with your practice as the person you share it with can offer you some encouragement and support to get you back on track. 

• Plan for imperfection – Life can throw at us many different challenges that may or may not be within our control. However, if you are aware of something that may get in the way of your daily meditation practice, then you have the power to plan an alternative solution so that you are still able to continue with your goal. This could be anything like changing the time you practice on a specific day, or making your practice shorter, or changing the location of where you practice. Do not feel like your practice has to look the same each day. Just start by turning up for your practice and the rest will come.

• Be kind to yourself – Sometimes we find that there are days where no matter how hard we try we just can’t make our meditation practice happen. This is ok and it is very normal. The worst thing you can do is beat yourself up for not making it happen. So why not try and treat yourself with compassion and kindness on these days. Draw a line behind it and remember that tomorrow is a new day.

Staying motivated is not an easy task so now that we have discussed some basic strategies to help motivation, you have the power to do great things. So good luck and just stick with it!