Why You Can't Meditate

Have you ever heard someone say they can't meditate?

Perhaps you have said or thought that at some point.

I meet a lot of people who say they wish meditation was a daily habit, but it's not. If that's you, you might know the practice would be good for you, but you can't figure out how to actually do it. You may have even tried a 7-day or 21-day or 30-day meditation challenge, and then stopped. Inspired by members of the Fruitful Living Course making progress with their meditation practices this week I decided to share with you a few reasons you've had, or are having, difficulty getting meditation to become as effortless as say...brushing your teeth and putting on your seatbelt.

1. You’re not ready. You haven’t prepared your body. A restless body = a restless mind. Experiment with sitting quietly after you’ve stretched, danced, biked, jogged, or performed some other type of physical movement.

2. You’re overcomplicating things. Meditation begins by sitting in silence. And breathing. And noticing. That's it. There's no need to sit a certain way, think a certain way, or "empty your mind." Different meditation techniques can come later (if that is your desire). They are not necessary, or even useful, at the start.

3. You think you “can’t” do it. When you begin a meditation practice your mind will be busy and your body will be restless. That’s normal. That doesn’t mean you “can’t meditate”. Again, I hear this statement frequently. For folks who come into Fruitful Living saying this, I have the honor of watching their beliefs and behaviors get a major upgrade. It's so beautiful and so much fun. The thing is, you can’t ski a black diamond run the first time you put on skis either! The point is to stay there. And simply observe the mind doing its mind thing and the body doing its body thing. The soothing and rejuvenating practice you're imagining will come. But not the first time.

4. You’re taking on too much. If you want the benefits of a meditation practice, you have to automate the practice first. It must become a habit, indeed a ritual. In order to do that you have to understand how behavior change works.

One of the simplest and most effective ways is to start small.

Smaller than you think. So small and so simple you can’t say no. Then, aim for consistency, not duration. Insert your meditation practice into the same time of the day, everyday. For example, commit to sitting in silence for 1 minute every day after you pour your favorite cup of whatever in the morning. No longer that that. Not at a different time. Not in a different spot. Sit at the same time, in the same spot everyday for 1 minute. Later, adding time becomes the easy part.

5. You’re trying to go solo. It pains me to see this all the time. People try and fail to change their habits again and again - and then decide that either something is wrong with them or that it's just who they are to not be able to _________ (insert desired behavior). You decide you are somehow flawed and doomed to stay the same - when really you just aren’t using effective strategies to change.

People learn and grow and make change happen faster in groups. So, if you want to change or start a habit, start hanging out with people who have that habit. Attend a class. Join a group. Invest in your own better present and future by signing on with a coach and community.

Stop trying to do everything on your own. Its not how humans were designed. And so it doesn’t work.

Developing a daily practice of meditation has changed my life. It has changed the lives of the beautiful souls in the Fruitful Living community. It will transform your life too. But first, you need to make it habit.

Enrollment is now open for a limited number of new members to join the Fruitful Living course in August. After that there will be a waiting list until the next course begins. APPLY TODAY!

In support of your Fruitful Living, - Michel