Sometimes what seems like a failure, such as losing your concentration in meditation, is actually what makes the difference in learning to meditate. According to Dan Harris, author of “10% Happier”, the reason most first time meditators quit is because they keep losing their focus when trying to meditate. However, he says that the exact thing about meditation that has a positive impact on your brain, changing it for the better, is these repeated “failures”… The failure goes like this:
- Start meditating
- Focus on your breath
- Lose your focus
- Notice that you lost your focus
- Focus again
- Repeat for 20 minutes
That’s it. So each time you “fail” by losing your focus, it’s like a type of exercise for your brain. So the failures are not failures at all… They’re the whole nature of the “practice”!
Our success is doing the work in the first place… The failures are really blessings in disguise.