Adding meditation to your list of healthy goals for 2019 doesn’t have to be hard! These tips will help you start mediation in 2019.

This post is #3 in the series How to Set healthy goals for 2019. Make sure you check out the other two parts of this series:

How to Accomplish Your Fitness Goals in 2019

and

Three Ideas for Nutrition Goals for 2019

Today’s post will help you fill out your 2019 goal planner for fitness, nutrition and mindfulness. If you haven’t gotten your copy, then what are you waiting for? It’s free!

Type your info below, and I’ll send it to you instantly!

Meditation Myth

First thing first, the goal being mindful or practicing meditation isn’t to completely get rid of your thoughts. It’s simply to try and be aware of your thoughts so they don’t overrun your life.

What do I mean by that?

Think about the last time you felt a strong emotion. Maybe you were anxious,

or angry,

or nervous,

or even excited!

What was going on in your head?

Your thoughts were probably running wild. When you were nervous, you were probably asking yourself if you could succeed at what you were trying to do.

So, in a situation like this you’d notice how your mind is wandering and be able to redirect.

For example,

When you start to feel that sense of anxiety, taking a few minutes to close your eyes and focus on your breath can help you.

And when I say focus on your breath, I mean literally listen to it.

Sometimes when I am emotional, I’ll go a step beyond just listening to my breath. I’ll have to consciously say aloud “breathing in” as I inhale and “breathing out” as I exhale.

It sounds pretty simple, but I promise when you really focus in on your breath, you start to calm down.

This is just one example of adding mindfulness into your life. We’ll talk about more later on in this post.

Start small with your meditation goals

Like with any new habit you’re trying to start, the key to making it stick is to start small.

Starting meditation in 2019 is no different! This’ll help you keep your motivation up.

So how small should you start your?

Like really small.

With setting anything like New Years Resolutions, it’s easy to set they huge, lofty goals for yourself. Then it’s like you’re already feeling anxious and not wanting to do them.

Try setting your goals so low, it seems worthy of an eye roll.

For example,

If you’re trying to make meditation a daily practice, try meditating for just one minute a day. You don’t need to make your minute practice harder than it needs to be, either. Just simply take a full minute of listening to your breath.

As you do this for a week or so, then adding on another minute, or 5 minutes won’t seem so daunting.

You’ll start to add on more, and it’ll feel natural. You won’t need to feel any anxiety about your goals, because you’ll naturally progress!

Meditation will be uncomfortable at first

Trying to be aware of your thoughts and actually hearing yourself breathe might be strange at first.

If you’ve never tried meditation, or even connecting with your breath, then make sure to go easy on yourself.

When I started my meditation practice, I would sit in my practice and ask myself,

“Am I doing this right?”

or

“Ugh, I let my thoughts wander again, I need to focus.”

Or when I first started, I felt uncomfortable. I knew meditation was important, but the idea was so foreign to me that my first few times actually felt uncomfortable.

I know you’ll probably feel the same way and I’m here to tell you that is totally ok!

That’s why it’s called a meditation practice. No one is perfect it at it, but with practice you’ll get better and better!

Tools to use to add mindfulness into your day

Visualizations

Visualizations are a powerful way to take your goals and dreams and paint a mental picture of what they look like in your minds eye. Lot’s of successful people visualize their success (like athletes) and it helps them actually achieve their goals.

Check out these posts to explore more about visuals!

Using Visualizations to Manifest Your Dreams

How to Make the Best Vision Board for 2019

Apps

If you’re just starting out to meditation, I would really recommend using apps to help guide you!

Here’s a few of my favorites:

• Sanity and Self
• Shine
• Calm

Check out my post The 3 Self Care Apps You Need in Your Life to check out more about Sanity and Self and Shine.

Is meditation and mindfulness a goal of yours for 2019? How will you add mindfulness into your routine? Tag me on Instagram @mindfullymonica to keep the talk about mindfulness going!

Have a great week!