Many people have a misconception that meditating is just “me-time,” but it is so much more than that. The idea of meditating is to give your mind a chance to just do nothing – yes, nothing. People are busier than ever these days and the mind is constantly running, contributing to an increase in stress. When you give yourself some time to just focus on doing nothing, you could reduce stress, improve focus, and be in control of your own mind. Here are some reasons why meditating should be your go-to:
1. It Reduces Stress
Photo from Zen Buddhist Group
If there’s one thing most people have in common, it’s stress. Stress stems from various sources, but its mainly due to constant overthinking since most people don’t ever give their minds a chance to rest. When meditating, you clear your mind completely, removing the stress caused by the usual constant stream of thoughts. This isn’t to say that the stress is only gone during meditation, as the benefits of meditating carry on far afterward too.
2. It Improves Focus
Photo from Cheapo Air
Part of meditating is focusing on doing one particular thing – breathing, for instance. While something as simple as breathing may sound easy, it is actually pretty difficult to focus your attention on that alone. If you’ve ever tried meditating, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Since your mind is used to constantly having hundreds of thoughts running in and out, it takes some effort to clear your mind completely and only focus on one task at a time. Your mind runs a lot more smoothly when it is solely focused on one thing — hence, why multitasking isn’t as productive as it seems to be — and meditating is known to improve your focus and increase productivity.
3. It’ll Help You Be in Control of Your Own Mind
Photo from Zen Buddhist Group
Our minds often control us and we simply can’t deny it. With all these thoughts running constantly through our heads, it seems impossible to control of your own mind instead of letting it control you. After practicing meditation for some time, it gets easier and easier to filter your thoughts and prevent them from overwhelming you.
I truly hope this will convince you to give meditation a try because I am so glad I did. “You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day — unless you’re too busy. Then you should sit for an hour.” -Zen proverb.
Want to keep up with HCBU? Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, check out our Pinterest board, and read our latest Tweets!