10 Free Sessions of Headspace (And 3 Things I’ve Learnt About Myself)
Those around me know I have a very short attention span.
I rarely watched TV serials because I could not sit through it — I always find myself fast forwarding all the time. My interest in many things (e.g. learning a new language, going to the gym) dies after a few sessions. My mind always wanders — I spend a disproportionate amount of time either reminiscing about the past, or thinking about what is next to come.
I have talked about meditation a lot through my work in the benefits and well-being space. I’ve shared with employees how they can use meditation to better manage their stress and anxiety. Ironically, I have not tried it as I always tell myself, “You don’t have time. Doing something for 10 minutes every day is a HUGE commitment!”
I went through a life cleanse recently (which includes clearing a whole bunch of stuff and deleting my social media). While it is therapeutic to remove things that do not add value to my life, it is even more important to supplement it with things that do.
Thus when I was recommended Headspace by a friend, which comes with a 10-session basics course on breathing exercises, I thought of giving it a try.
Regaining control of a wandering mind
It was difficult at the start. “How do you think of nothing? Isn’t it boring sitting through and counting your breaths? What’s so special about this — Aren’t we technically already breathing all the time?” I did not complete my first session.
It is only until the third or fourth session that I started to feel the effects. It became a lot easier to acknowledge that my mind will wander off, and I no longer had to consciously tell myself to take back control. The 10-minute sessions slowly start to fly by. It is difficult to describe the exact feeling, but I felt calmness and at ease.
When the sessions ended (I usually practise at the start of the day), they were usually accompanied by the most productive and positive days of the week.
My (negative) perceptions could be a prison
As a pessimist, it was also very easy for me to get hung up on the negatives. Making a mistake at work and running it through my mind a million times. Thinking about missed opportunities and what could have been.
Meditation to me in this case, is like detaching myself from the situation and seeing my thoughts from a bird’s eye view — Would l have verbalized these to another person in the same situation? What I realized was that I was my own worst critic. Thinking a thousand and one scenarios of how things could have gone wrong, or how I could be better was rarely constructive. These negative perceptions were clouding my evaluation.
By being deliberately aware of these thoughts (and that the situation was not as bad as it seems), I’ve learnt to accept more and practice some intentional self-compassion.
The wonder is in the journey
I am not saying that meditation is a magic pill that solves all your problems in an instant. If there is one thing I learnt, it is in fact I still have a lot to learn. To stay disciplined to set aside time for myself, and learn more techniques to regain focus. And to learn how to take a step back to move forward in this journey. After the 10 sessions, I was surprised at how distracted I was everyday, and how important it is to slow down to be in the present.
If you have used Headspace as well, feel free to drop me a message to share your experiences (or any other apps/routines that you use). Hope this was as helpful to you as it was for me — I’m also keen to see what works for others and what we can all reap the benefits from!
Note: I am not affiliated to Headspace, just an advocate and sharing. As part of the current COVID-19 crisis, Headspace has offered additional resources (“Weathering the Storm”) for meditation, sleep and movement exercises. You can check it out here: https://www.headspace.com/covid-19
