Why you should meditate in the morning.

If there is one thing that I could tell my twenty-three year old self, fresh out of university and starting the next chapter of my life in the ‘real world’ it would be this – meditate and exercise every single day.

My relationship with meditation has been on-again and off-again for many years. Yet, each time I come back to it I’m reminded of the benefits. These benefits don’t suddenly appear on day one. They slowly and gradually accumulate and grow with each day of practice. A little more focus, a little more clarity of thought, a little less stress.

There’s no right or wrong way to start meditating, but if you’re not sure where to begin, then follow along with me.

Why meditate?

There are always going to be storms. A difficult challenge in your career, a confrontation with a co-worker, a put-down from that little voice in your head that says you aren’t good enough, aren’t smart enough, aren’t talented enough to go for your dreams.

Storms are storms. They’re cold, wet and unpleasant. When you’re caught without your umbrella, socks squelching, hair dripping, torrential rain stinging your eyes, well…. it sucks.

And you can’t prevent storms. That’s ridiculous. You want to take on the weather?

Where would you even start?

But, there is something that you can do.

First, you can build an umbrella. Then, you can upgrade your umbrella for a tent. Next, a cosy little cabin with a fireplace and hot chocolate where you can weather the storms safely. From the cabin you might even start to appreciate their beauty and see their value.

Meditation is the difference between being in the storm and watching the storm from a safe cosy place. If you’ve lived your whole life in the storm, it is life changing.

What are the benefits of meditation?

I find that meditation helps me to get out of my own head. It’s a tool to clear my mind, reset, and start fresh ready to take on the day. The benefits that I’ve personally observed from regular a morning meditation include:

• The ability deal with stressful or emotional situations more calmly and rationally;
• A reduction in brain fog and ability to focus and think more clearly;
• A window through which you can see your thoughts more clearly and from a distance;
• The ability to reset your thought patterns in a moment of stress;

Why meditate in the morning?

The way that you spend the first hour of your morning truly can set the tone for your day. I find that a thoughtful morning routine protects me from stress, busyness and overwhelm. The reasons that I like to meditate first thing in the morning are to:

• Set a positive the tone for the day;
• Start the day with a feeling of accomplishment;
• Reduce the risk that ‘busyness’ derail good intentions to meditate;

What type of meditation should you do in the morning?

There’s no right and wrong here. When I meditate in the mornings I like to follow a guided meditation. The meditation that I use most often is the Waking Up Course by Sam Harris.

I decided to meditate in the morning for 30 days. This is what happened.

These are the benefits that I personally experienced after taking time to meditate in the morning for the past 30 days.

Like most good things, it wasn’t easy. On day one I was easily distracted and constantly getting lost in my thoughts. On days five, thirteen and twenty I had to stop halfway through to stop my dog from causing trouble and destroying my furniture.

Yet, despite meditating very much imperfectly, the results are real and pretty amazing.

Increased Focus

After only a week of daily meditation, I found that my focus in long meetings at work substantially increased. I was able to follow the conversation more attentively and was less likely to be distracted by my own train of thoughts.

Emotional resilience

In the second and third weeks of daily meditation I started to notice my emotions more consciously. I’d notice that I was tired after a Netflix binge and energised after a run.

With this feedback I’ve already started to tweak my life in tiny ways to include more of the things that leave be feeling energised, fulfilled and happy and fewer of the things that leave me feeling tired, anxious and drained.

I’m more likely to choose a run over Netflix, more likely to choose waking up to work on something meaningful over sleeping in.

Increased Happiness and Optimism

With increased emotional reliance, I also found that my happiness and optimism was less effected by the emotions of people around me. If my partner had a stressful day at work, I was able to be supportive without also becoming stressed myself.

Do you meditate in the morning?

Do you already meditate in the morning? Will you join me after reading this post? Let me know in the comments below.