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Over the last year, participating in 30-day challenges has really been fun. A few of which I have shared on this blog. Today I would like to share another.
My goal is to see if I can get you to join me.
If you don’t know what this challenge will be, it’s a meditation challenge.
This time around, It won’t cost you anything but a few minutes a day!
We will be starting this in January 2022, and my idea is to start the year off right with something to improve our lives.
Before you think this will be a “New Year’s resolution,” think again.
If you don’t know this already, I’m not a fan of resolutions, and instead, I like to make small changes to improve daily life.
This challenge happens to be starting in January, and if you want to make this your new years resolution, that’s great! Just don’t forget to let me know, in the comments below, if you will try this challenge.
30-Day Challenge
I’m sure you can relate to this. There are many skills out there that would be amazing to master.
We can stick with something for a few days most of the time. They are but a distant memory before we know it (just like many new years resolutions).
My hope with this 30-day challenge is to see how simple it is to improve yourself, even just a little bit. This might be one of those skills that truly will make your life better.
In the past, I have tried to meditate daily, but I either forgot about it, fell asleep, or didn’t feel like doing it. Not only is this something I want to add to my daily life, but posting it here will keep me accountable.
A New Mindset
Enough beating around the bush, let’s get to it!
To help us with this challenge, creating the right mindset will help. As I have found with many things, meditation needs to be practiced daily to improve and reap the benefits.
That is why my goal for this challenge is to meditate for five minutes a day.
One way to accomplish this is to create a mindset shift and make this a priority.
There is so much information going online that learning how to meditate can become overwhelming.
I was recently trying to find something to watch on Netflix when I saw that Headspace has a series on Netflix!
I really like how the narrator, St. Martin’s Griffin, explains meditation and guides you through a few options to see what works for you. He also has an amazing story and really knows what he is talking about.
Griffin even has a book that explains how he got into meditation. He has a fascinating story.
Meditation
So for January, our challenge will be to meditate for five minutes every day.
I have a strong feeling that we will all be able to stick with this challenge, as finding five minutes a day is effortless to do.
Together we will see how amazing meditation truly is. And who knows, it might even become a daily habit.
Next, we will cover some of the benefits of meditation, one of which I’m very excited about.
Being able to be present at the current moment has always been tough. I feel everyone is thinking about the past or the future. How often do we take time to really focus on the present moment?
Hopefully, this challenge will help with that and many other things.
Meditation Benefits
As you can read by doing a quick search online, there are many benefits you can get from meditation.
A few years ago, I decided to purchase the monthly plan on Headspace to learn to meditate.
I will say that I learned a lot but soon realized that I wasn’t making it a priority. Thus, I stopped my membership.
This might be another reason I’m excited to give it a try.
I have been changing my mindset to make important things a priority in life.
This website (Healthline) goes into 12 benefits of meditation, including:
- Build ways to manage your stress and anxiety
- Increasing your patience and tolerance
- Promoting emotional health
- Enhancing your self-awareness
- Having a better attention span
- Improving your sleep
- Decreasing your blood pressure
I’ve been trying to find pockets of time to focus on my breathing in the past month. I soon found, as a newbie, I needed a self-guided meditation practice.
During my search, I have found many articles that say using guided meditation isn’t meditation. Their reasoning behind it is that you are simply focusing on the narrating voice.
I agree with that, but it’s also important to understand that having someone guide you helps you learn this valuable skill. Maybe sometime in the future, setting a timer with some calming music will be sufficient. Only time will tell.
For this challenge, I will leave that up to you. I will be using a few different guided meditations that I have found. A few of which will be listed below for you to check out.
If you happen to find a meditation that works for you, please share it in the comments below!
Meditation Options
You have tons of options here. If you are lucky enough to have a local class, feel free to attend it which could be the best way. You even get the added bonus of being surrounded by people in the same boat as you.
Some additional ideas are YouTube videos, phone applications (nice to take with you anywhere), and even downloadable files.
Headspace also has an app that has a ton of great information. I was going to write about it, but instead, I’ll share the link with you, click here.
Below are a few videos I found on YouTube to help give you a few ideas. As a bonus, there are always other videos that you will be linked to.
The daily Calm is a 10-minute video that is a self-guided meditation tour. I actually really like this one and feel I’ll use it a few times this month.
You will be guided through meditation in a 5-minute video in the next video. I have used it once, and it’s pretty good, shorter than the previous video. Having choices is a good thing.
In the video below, you will learn about a few meditation suggestions. The video is 4 minutes long.
Lastly, I found this video that is simply nature sounds. That’s it. You can even play it all day long if you want. They also had a fireplace (super cool) and the beach. But I’ll leave you with nature. Just put a timer on your phone for five minutes and sit quietly.
You might even feel like you’re there.
After meditation, one thing is for sure: you should feel a little better than when you started. And the worst-case scenario is that you sit still for a few minutes every day. Not that bad if you ask me.
Join me in this January Challenge!
It’s only five minutes a day. Everyone can come up with an extra five minutes.
If you don’t believe me, here are a few ideas to find time in your day:
- Wake up, or go to bed a few minutes earlier
- Take a break at work
- Turn off the TV before NetFlix plays another show
- Show up to work five minutes early, and meditate in your car before going in.
Just don’t meditate while you’re driving. That would be a bad use of your time.
Leave a comment below if you think you can’t spare 5 minutes for this challenge.
I am more than happy to provide you with some ideas, but I think you can figure out where to do this challenge anywhere.
What would make you participate in this challenge?
My idea for this challenge is to meditate for 5 minutes every day this month.
To make it easier, all you need to do is turn on one of the guided sessions above or put a timer on your phone.
The idea here is to start somewhere. One minute isn’t enough (I’ve tried that in the past and didn’t get any benefits from it). On the other hand, twenty minutes as a newbie seems like forever.
That is what got me stuck on the five-minute challenge. It’s easy to find this time, and if you do more, that’s great!
It will also be interesting to see if five minutes is enough to see some benefits as well as get me in the habit of doing it every day.
Will you join me in this challenge?
We could all be kinder to our bodies, and I think this will be a significant step in the right direction and really isn’t a bad way to start 2022.
Let me know if you are going to be joining this challenge. I am also interested if you meditate already and have a few ideas for us to use.
Leave us a comment below!
Feel free to share this on social media to spread the word.
You can even use #WildeEscapeBlog.
Let’s see what happens and how many people can join us!
I would love to hear if you currently meditate regularly.
Have you noticed a difference in your life if you want to share? Do you suggest anything that you do to stay motivated?
I love a challenge that doesn’t require great sacrifice on my part!
This sounds easy.
And…beneficial.
“Being present in the moment” is important.
One example that I have been working on, is putting my cell phone away.
When with a friend for lunch, I always give them my attention. The only time I will look at my phone is to show them a photo.
Have you spent time with someone that is looking at their phone? I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel unimportant to that person. We need to embrace human interaction over electronic devices.
Recently, I have realized that I do not have any “quiet” or “down” time in my day.
The only real peaceful time is when I am asleep [if I’m not plagued with crazy dreams].
You reminded me that my doctor has encouraged me to make time for quiet/calm time every day.
So…Challenge Accepted!
That’s an excellent point, and people are always on their phones. It’s funny how often I’m somewhere alone and watching what others do. In a group, people were having dinner, walking, and always on their phones.
The one I recently found interesting is when they “Put their phone away” but keep looking at their watch…aka, the ones that still show alerts, text, emails, and so on.
Glad you’re going to try the challenge. I think it’s going to be fun and exciting.
I actually started this challenge in October but I am still going! I do 10 minutes per day and I am loving it! I will join you and continue for the next 30 days! I definitely need the guided meditation and find it very beneficial.
That’s awesome! It also means that you probably already made it a habit. But thanks for joining me for another month!
I’m about to do my day one…we’ll see how it goes.
Update: I did it!
It was easy and made a difference in my day. In fact, I am continuing every day.
I might extend it from 5 minutes to 10 minutes. Or, try twice a day. I’ll let you know how it’s going.
Thanks for this suggestion – it made has made a positive impact for me!
That’s awesome, and what a GREAT JOB!
It’s nice to know someone gave it a try, and it worked out. I haven’t meditated this weekend and will have to do it right now!