Get Great at Doing This in 2019

Each morning I do a “Take 5” practice.

Sometimes I do a little longer meditation, but if nothing else, I at least do a “Take 5.”

“Take 5” is a short, less than 5-minute, guided meditation focused on breathing.

You simply take a moment to get grounded physically and mentally in the present, then you take five deep and long breaths with both an inhalation and exhalation of at least five seconds each.

While I think “Take 5” is a practice that you might want to consider cultivating this year, it’s likely that if you’ve tried any kind of meditation practice before, even for a few minutes, this one certain thing has happened to you.

And when it comes to moving toward your health and self-care goals this year, you’re going to have to learn how to get great at this one particular concept, two very simple, but important words, that are taught in meditation.

If you’ve ever tried to meditate, heck, even focus for a period of time on something, you’ve probably caught your mind wandering.

The truth is that in this day and age we’ve become experts at multi-tasking and switching our attention from one thing to another quickly and often.

So it’s no wonder that when we try to focus, our mind seems to act like a pinball machine, as our thoughts go from one thing to the next in a matter of milliseconds.

And if you’ve studied meditation at all, you’ll know that the point of it isn’t to stop yourself from having thoughts; in fact, it’s impossible to try to control what thoughts do end up traveling through our minds from one minute to the next.

Instead, the purpose of meditation is to be able to become aware of when you’ve become distracted, meaning, your mind has left the present moment.

What’s more, the goal isn’t even to always be in the present moment – that’s nearly impossible too; rather, it’s about awareness, catching yourself being distracted.

So what is this thing related to meditation that you must get great at doing this year as you make positive changes in your life?

It’s the idea of “beginning again.”

Whether it’s becoming distracted during meditation…

Or choosing the hamburger and fries over the salad (when you promised yourself to order the salad)…

Or saying “yes” to something only because you felt obligated to do so…

Or not getting to bed until 11 when you wanted to be there by 10…

Or anything else that didn’t go the way you planned, you must develop the practice of not beating yourself up about it; instead, you must learn how to “begin again” over and over again.

You might be thinking that if you have to keep “starting over,” over and over again, well then maybe you just weren’t cut out for whatever it is you’re trying to do.

Well, that could be the case, but it could also be other things like maybe you’re not willing to “fight for it” yet, like I talked about last time, but it could also be that you’re trying to make too big of a change too quickly, or you’re trying to make too many changes at once.

That’s what I help my clients navigate – how to set appropriate goals that are reachable, because I know how discouraging it is to have to “begin again.”

Regardless, understand that “beginning again” is normal – none of us gets it right all of the time.

None of us are perfect in our habits or intentions.

Accepting that you’ll have to “begin again” many times this year allows you to give yourself permission to be gentle with yourself as you work toward positive changes in your life.

Developing new habits and behaviors is hard, but trust me, getting great at being gentle with yourself through the practice of “beginning again” is the easiest and fastest way to achieve your goals.

I mean, what’s the alternative?

You quit, beat yourself up, and feel like a failure for a few weeks or months before you get motivated to try again, only to find yourself caught in this vicious cycle?

Or you accept that you’re not going to be perfect this year – sometimes willingly, sometimes unwillingly – but you are willing to not throw in the towel and waste several months until you’re inspired to get back on the horse.

No, remind yourself this is a normal part of the process, learn the valuable lesson you need, dust yourself off, and “begin again” the next moment, the next meal, the next night, or the next day.

Regardless, you “begin again.”

I’ll be “beginning again” many, many times this year until I become better and better at whatever it is I’m working towards too.

What you might find is that once you begin to master that one thing you’re working towards because you’ve been willing to “begin again” multiple times, you don’t have to “begin again” so much anymore – it’s become a habit; better yet, it’s become WHO you are.

It’s your turn to take care of you,

 

 

 

Will this be the year you reach out for help?

With my guidance, support, and accountability,
you can TRANSFORM your health this year.

Here’s how I’ve helped other women like yourself.

What will YOUR story say in 2019?

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and where you want to be this year.