Begin a meditation practice when experiencing significant emotional distress or tumult, as it can help process difficult experiences and manage emotional responses.
Use meditation to prevent uncontrolled anger outbursts; it allows for reflection and helps separate difficult experiences from overall positive ones, leading to less heated reactions.
When facing significant anxiety or panic attacks, commit to or re-engage with a meditation practice to process and manage overwhelming feelings, even if immediate ‘bliss’ is not achieved.
Practice meditation consistently every day, even for a short duration like 20 minutes, as the cumulative effect provides significant long-term benefits for managing emotions and stress.
Before a high-stakes performance or activity, meditate in the actual space where it will occur to help ground yourself and acclimate to the environment.
When meditating in a non-silent environment, acknowledge and accept ambient sounds (e.g., ’that is our sound guy walking up the stairs, breathe in’) rather than fighting them, to orient yourself to the environment.
Do not feel pressured to adopt a specific, difficult meditation posture like lotus if it is uncomfortable; the core of meditation is clear observation, not necessarily physical contortion.
During meditation, observe thoughts and feelings as they arise without getting carried away or ‘yanked around’ by them, as this creates distance and allows for better handling of mental states.
Approach meditation without specific expectations about how you should feel (e.g., blissed out, zenned out), as expecting a particular outcome can hinder the process and lead to disappointment.
When facing significant professional failures, actively process the experience rather than trying to avoid or outrun it, as this allows for learning and moving on without hitting a wall of anxiety.
Lean on a supportive and honest partner during times of adversity, allowing them to help you confront and process difficult experiences, preventing self-pity and providing perspective.
When feeling like a ’loser’ or facing adversity, seek perspective from others who can normalize the experience, as this can reduce self-pity and highlight the commonality of human struggles.
In some cases, allow a degree of ‘ignorance’ or lack of full understanding about potential difficulties to fuel initial motivation and confidence, as overthinking can sometimes be paralyzing.
If experiencing mental overload, especially from social media, consider deleting the app from your phone to reduce exposure to overwhelming information and improve mental well-being.
Prioritize self-care routines like acupuncture or meditation, finding ways to ensure you can attend them (even if it means creative scheduling or explanations), due to their significant benefits for physical and mental health.
If entering a public-facing role, consider using a stage name to create a psychological separation between your personal self and your professional persona, which can help protect against public criticism.