Meditation
I have meditated on and off for the past 15 years. I tried a bit in high school but never got into a rhythm. My first three years of college were so busy that I forgot about it. My senior year, however, I took a class taught by Daniel Kahneman where we discussed research on happiness and life satisfaction. During that class it became clear that science was beginning to back up what people had been saying for many millennia: meditation can be good for you.
After I graduated I decided to give meditation a real shot. I purchased a meditation program called Holosync. Then – for a period of about a year – I tried to meditate for an hour every day. Though not easy, I am entirely serious when I say that this was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself.
Since that time I’ve meditated sporadically. I’ll usually manage 30 minutes a day for a few weeks. Then something will happen, I’ll stop for several months, and then I’ll start up again. I still use Holosync, but recently also started using Sam Harris‘s Waking Up app.
Meditation is like exercise. Doing it consistently isn’t easy. It takes time to see results. But – also just like exercise – even a little bit helps, and doing it regularly can dramatically improve your life. It certainly has for me.