Meditate your way to a better life — Tip #4

Pausing for a few minutes a day is key to live in today's fast-paced world

Did you know that in 2024 the United Nations has declared December 21st as World Meditation Day? This should give it away that meditation can’t be overlooked and is something that even the most skeptical of us (used to be me 🙋) should take into consideration.

In honour of this occasion (it was last Sunday), today on Christmas 🎄 we focus on one of the most underrated activities we can engage in to live a better life.

Meditation is not just sitting cross-legged and focusing on your breathing

For most of our species’ lifetime, the pace of life was pretty slow apart from very intense bursts of activity. We used to hunt and gather as quickly as we could (the world was a dangerous place) to get enough calories to survive another day. The rest of the day was spent resting, connecting with each other, preparing for the next moves.

Today’s life is completely different. Most of us can’t wait in a queue without pulling out our phone and checking some brain-rot content.

We are Formula 1 pilots racing through life compared to our ancestors. This is how meditation has risen in the modern world and is no longer something reserved for Buddhists, hermits, or other “spiritually” inclined individuals. We have realized that to move fast, we need to pause every now and then.

There was a show I used to watch called Billions. I was impressed when I saw the hedge fund manager regularly managing his anxiety through meditation and breathing practice.

Here is a non-exhaustive, science-backed list of benefits of meditation practice:

• Stress Reduction: Lowers cortisol levels, reducing stress and anxiety.

• Improved Focus: Enhances concentration and cognitive function.

• Emotional Health: Reduce symptoms of depression and increases positive mood.

• Better Sleep: Improves sleep quality by calming the mind.

• Pain Management: Reduces perception of pain and improves coping.

• Lower Blood Pressure: Reduces blood pressure in hypertensive individuals.

• Enhanced Self-Awareness: Increases mindfulness and self-reflection capabilities.

By now, you should be sold on at least giving it a shot, and if you already practice meditation, kudos to you! Let this be your reminder to share your experience with a friend: it really can change lives 🧘.

There are many different types of meditation and it’s beyond the scope of this publication to be exhaustive. Personally, the one I have been sticking to for the last 5 years is called guided meditation. Basically, an instructor guides you through what you need to do (e.g. count your breaths, focus on a specific body part etc.). I find this helpful because I can just mindlessly (lol, the irony!) open an app called Calm, do this routine, and call it a day. I do it daily for 15 minutes at the same time of the day so that it is built into my routine and I can’t forget or skip it. I actually feel a “urge” to do it, because I feel better, lighter, energized after doing it and frustrated or tensed when I don’t.

Lastly I’ll mention that I also tried non-guided meditation: just sit, close your eyes and focus on your breathing. This is much harder for me and I don’t last long as I get tempted to look at the timer to see “how much time is left?”. But I’ll admit that this way of meditating is much more powerful compared to the guided one, which feels more like a “task” and still has the “noise” coming from your mind trying to focus on what the instructor says.

Your weekly tip: Fix a time during your day when you meditate. Some people love it first thing in the morning, others as they wind down. Make sure that on a daily basis you have 10 - 20 minutes where you shut out all the external noise. Just you, your thoughts, your breathing. After 2-8 weeks of daily practice, you should start feeling more “present” in your life.

Closing this week’s tip by wishing Merry Christmas to the Don’t Panic family 🎄🧑‍🎄.

Let this be a day where you introspect, feel yourself, and be grateful for the opportunity to be alive: you together with the people you care about.

Don’t forget to send this tip to a friend or someone that you care about 🫰

See you next week, until then…

Don’t Panic 😱