Begin and maintain a meditation practice before a crisis hits, as the seemingly inconsequential or boring hours of practice build a vital internal resource that “counts” when you need it most.
Embrace the mantra “it’s not a race” in your daily life and work, allowing yourself to stop and rest when needed, as this approach can lead to greater progress and reduce the pressure to constantly do more quickly.
Engage in regular meditation practice, as it can provide subconscious strength and a resilient perspective during health crises or challenging times, even without conscious effort to calm down.
When you find yourself projecting negative or catastrophic future scenarios, consciously question why you are rehearsing such deviations from your life, as this can prevent getting “tripped up” by mental proliferation.
Recognize that physical pain is distinct from the “extra suffering” we add through mental resistance or negative projections, and consciously try to avoid falling into that additional suffering.
Use meditation to hack your habitual response to pain, moving beyond blind aversion to a more mindful and less suffering-inducing engagement with physical discomfort.
If not distracted, focusing on physical pain can make it more manageable and reduce the need for strong medication, as the mind’s engagement can alter the experience of suffering.
When receiving new invitations or requests, practice delaying your response instead of immediately saying yes, allowing yourself time to “breathe a bit” and avoid overcommitting.
During periods of recovery or significant life challenges, create a “retreat” environment by limiting social contact and phone calls to foster a deeply restorative period.
Challenge the conditioning that makes it difficult or embarrassing to receive care from others, recognizing that allowing others to help is a form of “letting go” and can be a profound learning experience.
Pursue excellence in your work and life with a mindset of “it’s not a race,” ensuring that your ambition doesn’t lead to misery for yourself or those around you.
Allow yourself to acknowledge and feel gratitude for the positive impact you’ve already made, which can reduce the relentless “need to accomplish something” and create a sense of fulfillment and permission to rest.
Practice “dying before you die” by actively seeking to incorporate the profound wisdom typically gained in one’s final moments into your present life, rather than waiting for a crisis.
View meditation as a practice for death, where learning to be present with current discomforts like knee pain can build the capacity to face whatever comes at the end of life.
Cultivate the practice of “rejoicing” or taking delight in the good you have done, your commitments, and your care for others, as this non-arrogant self-appreciation can make moments of backsliding feel less terrible and provide a fuller perspective.
When negative thoughts or projections arise, practice self-compassion and avoid harsh self-judgment, even if you have a long-standing practice of mindfulness.
When experiencing mental fogginess or a lack of acuity, actively engaging in practical problem-solving can be a turning point to help your brain “come back” and restore cognitive function.
When with someone who is dying, remind them of the specific good they have done, as this practice, advised by the Buddha, helps them focus on the joy and power of their goodness rather than regret or things left undone, facilitating letting go.
Recognize that progress and change are incremental, involving steps forward and occasional steps back; value these moments of growth and realize that even setbacks don’t negate overall advancement in mindfulness and perspective.
Cultivate a perspective where external validations or outcomes (like book sales or Amazon rankings) hold less importance, allowing you to focus on the inherent value of your work rather than its reception.
Understand and embrace the fundamental insight that the mind is trainable, which underpins the potential for continuous growth and improvement in mindfulness and perspective.
Utilize Sharon Salzberg’s guided meditation on the 10% Happier app (in the on-the-go category) to apply loving kindness as a “silent secret superpower” while walking through the world.
Practice loving kindness meditation often enough to build confidence and clarity in the practice, though the frequency is ultimately “up to you” and doesn’t necessarily require it to be your sole practice.
When you feel uncertain or don’t know how to proceed in a situation or connection with someone, reach for loving kindness meditation as a go-to practice.
Do not feel pressured to visualize during loving kindness meditation, as it is an option, not a requirement; instead, focus on other methods like repeating names, feeling a visceral sense of connection, or a global sense of well-being to make the practice come alive.
It is acceptable to simply rest in the feeling of loving kindness, but also experiment with structured practices (phrases, directed thoughts) to enhance connection, especially when the feeling isn’t present or when the sense of connection is broader than a single emotion.
If the feeling of loving kindness doesn’t naturally arise during meditation, use the structured elements of the practice (like repeating phrases) as a tool to engage with it, rather than becoming discouraged.