Hey all !
I'm currently reading anoooother self-help book called "The willpower instinct". Well, this post won't talk about the main subject of the book : I leave it for another post maybe, but one thing that really opened my eyes while reading it was the part about meditation. And that's my best advice by the way :
Meditate.
I've been meditating for 6 years now, mainly focusing on what experts call "mindful meditation", but I've never really been able to do it like I wanted. I was too distracted, lost in my thoughts, always moving to close the door, the window, reaching for a blanket because I was too cold, putting the blanket away because I was too hot... Well, you see my point : I had troubles focusing.
I've always been down to earth. I tryuly believe and try things that have been concretely proven, scientifically tested and approved. So the first time I tried meditation, to be honest, I was not really convinced how this thing could help me deal with my anxiety or eating disorders to name a few. Then, I had my "Aha moment" as they call it, while reading the book mentioned above.
The author wrote it. THE thing my self-declared-scientific-geek-brain wanted to read... :
"Neuroscientists have discovered that when you ask the brain to meditate, it gets better not just at meditating, but at a wide range of self-control skills, including attention, focus, stress management, impulse control, and self awareness. People who meditate regularly aren’t just better at these things. Over time, their brains become finely tuned willpower machines. Regular meditators have more gray matter in the prefrontal cortex, as well as regions of the brain that support self-awareness."
Now I had it : the concrete reason to do it. The why, and how, of this weird self-improvement method.
It's been only a week I've started mindfulness meditation again, and I already feel it in my day-to-day life... So that's my advice : try it. Only 10 minutes a day. Download an app for that, "Headspace" is a great one for example. And do it.
<3
