Meditation might be the closest thing to a silver bullet for performance: regular practice reduces stress, improves creativity, and increases focus and memory. Entrepreneurs like Loic Le Meur and Evan Williams meditate to build better companies. Athletes like Kobe Bryant do it to play better on the court.
Participants in our recent mediation challenge reported gains in their own effectiveness, too: 75% told us that meditation improved their focus at work and 90% learned skills that they could apply to other areas of their life. What kind of skills can you build while sitting in silence?
Meditation Trains Brain for the Game of Life
You’ll learn mindfulness techniques through meditation that will train your brain how to pay attention. For instance, you’ll practice taking breaths, scanning your body, and concentrating on how things feel, taste or sound.
Meditating for a few minutes every day is like shooting freethrows at the end of basketball practice. Instead of training your arms for the perfect shot, you’re teaching your brain how to think with focus for maximum mental performance.
Since you use your brain all of the time, you’ll notice improvements in every task you do. For instance, Lift survey participants told us they:
- Talked to their spouse without thinking about checking their phone messages
- Stayed calm when a customer screamed at them by practicing their breathing techniques
- Resolved a bout of insomnia by scanning their body to find the stress and let it go
It’s easy to get started with meditation, too. 90% of meditators on Lift continue to do it daily after just 11 days. That’s as easy as taking your vitamins every day.
Here’s how you can start meditating today:
Right Now: Go to calm.com and listen to their 2 minute guided meditation program. Now you’re a meditator.
Then: Add the meditate habit on Lift. Check out an app like Headspace, Calm, Buddhify or Omvana for guided meditations.
Image: © CC Keith Allison on Flickr
Read Lift’s How to Meditate guide for more tips and free guided meditations.
