Practice meditation to create a crucial space between a stimulus (e.g., anger, frustration) and your response, allowing you to observe emotions before acting on them and thus respond more thoughtfully.
Instead of finding new time, incorporate meditation into periods you perceive as ’lost’ or unavoidable, such as while putting a child to sleep. This can make the practice feel less overwhelming and more sustainable.
To ease into meditation, sprawl out on the floor with low-volume TV in the background, focusing attention on physical feelings of relaxation. When distracted, gently return your focus, giving yourself permission to enjoy laziness.
View falling off a habit (like meditation) as a useful learning opportunity. It allows you to viscerally recognize the benefits the practice provided, thereby incentivizing you to get back on track.
Understand that willpower is a finite resource and ineffective for habit formation. Instead, focus on the tangible benefits derived from a practice, as these positive outcomes will naturally pull you forward and sustain the habit.
Accept that forming habits involves a process of experimentation, falling off the wagon, and repeatedly getting back on. This iterative process of ‘failure’ is a natural and necessary part of habit development.
Shift your perspective on self-care practices (like meditation) from being an obligation to something that can be easily incorporated into your existing routine, giving yourself permission to ‘fudge it’ and not aim for perfection.
If you are already effectively incorporating meditation into unavoidable daily moments, release the self-imposed pressure to transition to a more formal or structured practice. Your current method is valid and beneficial.
Adopt physical activities like solo cycling not just for physical health, but also as a means to create mental space, process thoughts and feelings, and experience a sense of well-being, similar to meditation.
Frame your personal exercise and self-care routines as a way to be healthier and more present for your children and partner, using this external motivation to sustain your commitment.
Recognize that a critical inner voice or ‘running self-reproach’ is a common human experience. Cultivate awareness of this voice and learn to manage it, rather than letting it dictate your actions or self-perception.
Openly discuss and schedule your personal self-care practices (like meditation) with your partner. Clear communication and mutual understanding can prevent conflict and integrate individual habits into shared life.
Refrain from lecturing or nagging others about meditation, as this approach can be annoying and counterproductive, potentially creating resistance rather than encouraging adoption of the practice.