In recent years, meditation has been gaining popularity.

I am receiving more and more inquiries from people interested in learning to meditate, and it is certainly something I am glad about. Whether it is to reduce stress and anxiety, or to improve the quality of life in general, I always recommend introducing the practice of Mindfulness into the daily routine.

Mindfulness requires willingness

However, although science has contributed knowledge about the many benefits that this practice brings us (emotional, mental, physical and of inner peace) the reality is that it is not easy to start meditating . It is common to see that people begin full of illusion, just to try, they go as the days go by not being able to find a moment to practice.

And we shouldn’t be surprised. We are used to not stop doing things, not “wasting time” with activities that are not immediately useful and to escape from boredom. This is how the beginner, almost without realizing it, invents multiple excuses not to meditate.

Mindfulness requires practice

I myself, when I started, quickly became an expert of “tomorrow does not pass” . I loved the idea that meditation represents, the benefits it brings, and besides it was very good to say that I practiced Mindfulness. However, when it came down to it, I procrastinated over and over again.

In the end I was lucky enough to live near a Buddhist monastery and asked to participate in several retreats, which put me in a situation where I would have looked very bad if I didn’t go. I was very happy to do so. I stopped pushing myself to fulfill my goals and realized that I could enjoy meditating, in fact I felt like it .

You may be interested in: “Mindfulness: 8 benefits of full care”

Mindfulness: the usual beginner’s excuses

Therefore, if you are starting or thinking of starting soon in this meditation, I would like to share with you these tips that can help you to overcome the five main usual excuses :

1. I don’t have time

This is undoubtedly the most repeated and perhaps the most absurd of all. We are all busy, yes, but we always have five minutes to devote to ourselves .

Many beginners think they have to start with 30 minutes of meditation a day and that’s a big mistake. The key is to make progress. Set a simple goal, for example 5 minutes a day for the first week until you can meditate a minimum of 20 minutes a day. Get into the habit of spending 5 minutes a day and slowly building up to 8, 10 minutes, and so on , is the best way to get comfortable with this practice. Think that just 10 minutes of meditation a day already brings you numerous benefits.

2. I get bored

The greatest enemy of the novice meditator is boredom, and frankly I understand that. An activity that consists of doing nothing, does not sound particularly attractive.

But buddy, doing nothing is already doing something. And it’s a really hard thing. Let someone guide you at first, practice guided meditation to make it less boring . There are also meditations of many different kinds, some based on certain themes that you may find more appealing or on repeating mantras. This makes it more enjoyable as it reduces the impression that you are doing nothing.

3. I don’t do it right

One of the greatest difficulties in meditating is to set expectations or to repeat to yourself “everyone meditates well except me”.

If you can’t concentrate on your breathing because you keep having different thoughts like your shopping list, your weekend plans or how bored you are, congratulations! That’s how great you’re doing. The goal of Mindfulness meditation is just that, to observe all the thoughts that are going through your mind . Just observe them, accept that you have been distracted, and pay attention to your breathing again, until the next distraction comes.

To get you started: “5 Mindfulness exercises to improve your emotional well-being”

4. I have something important to do

You are meditating and suddenly one of the distracting thoughts makes you realize that you have actually forgotten something important to do.

You can’t stop thinking about it, so this time you convince yourself that this meditation is not going to do any good. Wrong! The more distracted the better, so you don’t get bored. Notice how distracted and nervous you are . Be aware of your accelerated breathing and how much you care about what you have to do. Be encouraged, after all, in just ten minutes you will be able to do it.

5. I don’t know where to start

A good idea would be to start at the beginning. Simply sit down and pay attention to your breath, a sound or an external object . You don’t need anything else. No classical background music, no scented candles, no being able to sit in the lotus flower position. Just make yourself comfortable but don’t lean your head, keep it up so you don’t fall asleep. Notice how you breathe and how you breathe out and inhale the air. Y… voilá , you’re already meditating!

I hope these little tips have convinced you to knock down those excuses we all make for not meditating and really try it – when you least expect it, you’ll find you’re hooked!