Habitual Meditation

Routine sound so dull, but it's also so pleasant especially to create a meditation habit

When do you start with a new habit? Say, if you want to stop smoking, is it somehow ‘easier’ to start working on that on a date like January 1st? Why I’m bringing this up is that for one of the Life Hacks that we shared with you, I made a 5-year plan. Two of the actions on my list stated that I wanted to maintain a streak (for daily meditation as well as exercises). Funny, I did my exercises for a while and now I can’t find the time. Really? Same with meditation. I did enjoy the 21-days meditation group I joined and followed in the autumn. But after I finished it I only used it off and on to improve my sleeping pattern. So the real question is: do you only start a (new) habit when external factors force you to do it?

A few weeks ago I read an article about someone who’s emigrated to Italy. The essence of the article was about once you’ve moved and live in a different country, life goes on. I mean, at some point it’s not new anymore and it’s ‘business as usual’ again. Also under the sun of Italy or Spain, you still have to do the groceries, have to think about what to eat, have to cook, have to clean…..you're no longer in holiday mode. It’s not much in the scheme of things, but a little challenge we’re facing now is this: because we eat dinner in the afternoon, we have to decide earlier on the day what to eat. And just sometimes you don’t have the inspiration yet, so early in the morning. I know, how it is possible that living a life of luxury is not able to inspire us as to what to eat for dinner? Anyway, my point is that your life abroad will most likely become a routine as well. Don’t get me wrong, routine is something a human needs, it’s something we can hold on to, especially when things get tough. So rather than approaching the term negatively, because I can’t help that the word “routine” gives me basically a feeling of boredom or dullness, I thought: how can I change my way of thinking and use it to my advantage?

With this in mind, over the course of last week, I did two things: 1) I’ve started a 21 Day Abundance Meditation "challenge" again (find it here) and 2) I shared this with Steph. Shared this because I promised it to my future self to make this a daily habit and build up a streak, which won’t be easy to break anymore…. in other words, I'm making sure I have an accountability partner. Research says say that individuals have the following probability of completing a goal by taking these actions:

• Having an idea or goal: 10% likely to complete the goal

• Consciously deciding that you will do it: 25%

• Deciding when you will do it: 40%

• Planning how to do it: 50%

• Committing to someone that you will do it: 65%

• Having a specific accountability appointment with someone you’ve committed to: 95%

Hoping not to be the other 5%...anyway, my other personal reason to start the meditation again was I needed a new anchor to start the day with, relaxed, open minded and probably above all to appreciate all the little things in life. When I overthought my decision I realised that, even though I’m still not sure how to completely “go within”, I did get a lot of comfort out of the daily meditation routine.

Before I started, I was contemplating what sort of meditation I wanted. I’m far from an expert, on the contrary, and don’t even know what’s all out there. But a search on YouTube does the trick. Or not. There is so much available, it’s too hard to find something to your liking. What I did know is that I don't have the patience or experience (or time….) yet to do very long daily sessions. What I also knew is that the voice of the trainer is very important to me. Actually, I need to have a click with the voice and the background music.

So, the decision was easily made and I’d chosen to start the same meditation course I did a while back. Coincidentally, the first meditation was about the luxuries in life. The hint couldn’t be more clear. 

I hope to achieve the same with my DuoLingo Spanish lessons. This daily habit has reached  a streak of more than six years, which definitely contributes to an incentive to keep on going. That’s what it’s all about with starting a new habit. Smart thinking Duolingo! 

I’ve once read in the book ‘The 6 Minute Diary’, that a human needs to do something (what they are not used to) for at least 66 days before it sticks, before your mind and body are used to the new pattern, your new life. That explains why I haven’t continued either my meditation or exercises in the past. The other day I mentioned this to Steph: apart from the perseverance of getting past the 66 days, wouldn’t it be good to have an app (another one!....) to keep track of your streak and to share if you like? A habit app, an app for all sorts of habits, from stop drinking and/or smoking to, well, do your daily exercise. And there are quite a few free apps around you can download and use, but maybe that's something to explore with establishing these habits - keeping track of the days, but also finding someone to share it with.

Reading back, I realise that is a sort of contradiction in my words here. How can you build up habits and avoid speaking of the word routine? Well I think here lies the crux, routine gives you stability and generates productivity (you get more things done), as human you should find a nice daily balance of routine and the other stuff. To explore the unknown. To do spontaneous things. 

While writing this, could it be that I’m reflecting on the past year and subsequently finding my own answers? The last six years we already spent a lot of time in Spain, but by emigrating we still explored the unknown. It was not spontaneous, we planned it rather well. But you’re facing so many new challenges. From practical to emotional matters. Up to the point that the exploring gets a bit out of control and things become to chaotic (in my mind) that leads to looking for anchors to structure it back to routine!   

Enjoy your weekend!

Sunny greetings,

Carlo & Steph

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To continue your journey and start making meaningful changes, here’s a life hack and a book recommendation to help you take the first step:

Life Inspiration (Book recommendation): The 6 Minute Diary, here

Life Hack (exercise): number 09, here