My 31-Day Meditation Challenge

Within the past year, I’ve struggled with occasional anxiety and panic attacks. This can be scary and debilitating, so I knew I needed to do something about it. I researched ways to deal with anxiety and came upon meditation. (Find out about other natural options I discovered here).

To learn more about meditation, I picked up a book written by Dan Harris called, “10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works—A True Story.” The title is a mouthful but it says it all.  

In case you don’t know who Dan Harris is, he’s the ABC News anchor who had a full-blown panic attack live on air. On his quest to make necessary life changes, he found meditation. Although a self-proclaimed skeptic, he began to embrace this new way to deal with his inner turmoil to become a happier person. His funny, honest, and relatable take on meditation is perfect for those of us who aren’t into the “hippie dippy” approach. In his book, he dispels stereotypes and proves that meditation can be for everyone. He doesn’t promise a miracle cure, he just believes that meditation will make people 10% happier. Hey, I’ll take it!

After finishing the book I was excited to try it. But despite all the benefits meditation offers, I still had a hard time maintaining it as part of my daily routine. I guess I was just too preoccupied with other things. I was focused on taking better care of my body but didn’t pay close enough attention to my mind. Yet, I was a ball of stress and constantly felt overwhelmed. All these feelings eventually magnified to the point where I could no longer ignore them.

That’s why I decided on December 1st to challenge myself to commit to a daily meditation practice for a month. I downloaded an app called Insight Timer, which was recommended by a few people in an online group I belong to. This app allows users to listen to guided meditations, even for as little as one minute a day. So, there’s really no excuse for not having enough time to fit it into my busy schedule. Even after just a few days of daily meditation, I’m feeling more relaxed and refreshed. I’m excited to see how continuing a regular practice will benefit me.

If you’re feeling anxious or stressed out, I challenge you to join me on my journey. For guided meditations, you can use the app I previously mentioned or others like Headspace or 10% Happier, which was created by Dan Harris.

You can also simply follow these 3 steps that Harris outlines in his book to do mindfulness meditation on your own:

1. Sit comfortably.
2. Focus your attention on your breath.
3. When you notice your mind wandering (and it will) return your focus to your breath.

It’s as simple as that. You can start out slow then work your way up to longer meditations as you gain more experience. Let’s face it, who doesn’t want more me time?

As this year comes to a close, what better time to set a positive goal for yourself? But you don’t need to wait until the start of the new year to make this happen.

Are you ready to commit to a happier, healthier you? If so, I’d love for you to keep me posted on how it works for you!