Consistency Is Key

Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today I'm going to talk about why consistency is really key to you living a more mindful and meaningful life. So in 2015, when I ran The Mindfulness Summit, which is the world's largest mindfulness conference, I interviewed many of the world's most respected mindfulness teachers, as well as neuroscientists and researchers. And if there was one message that came through unanimously from the all of the 35 plus interviews that I did was this clear message that consistency of mindfulness practice, even if it's only five or 10 minutes a day, is much more effective than doing the occasional long practice, you know, once a week or every now and then. There's several reasons for this.

So let's start with the neuroscience. So neuro-plasticity allows the brain to reorganize itself. It does this by forming new neural connections throughout our life. So research shows us that mindfulness can help us rewire and eventually hardwire our brain in ways that give us greater levels of calm, happiness, resilience while at the same time, improving our overall health in various ways. So the metaphor often given to describe the process of creating new neural connections in the brain is if you imagine a field of tall grass and you walk through it once.

And the first time, of course, it's a bit tricky. It's tricky making the path through. It feels a bit clunky at first, right? But after you walk the same way, 10, 15, 25 or more times, you start to have a very defined, new path. And after you walk it with a lot of repetition, walking that way just feels like second nature. It's the consistency and repetition that makes these paths very defined.

And so it is with neural pathways. It takes repetition and consistency of practice to pave new neural pathways to peace, wellbeing, and inner strength. One other reason that a short daily practice is preferable is because of the way habits form. The new science around habit formation shows that a small daily dose of good habits is the most likely way to form great lifelong habits. And lastly, another good reason for daily practice is that each time you meditate, you train yourself to abide in this mindful way of being.

And therefore you're more likely to carry some of that with you into daily life. You're more likely to let that energy of mindfulness flow into the rest of your day and into everything you do. So when it comes down to it, this is what we want, right? We want to bring as much of those benefits of our practice from the cushion or the seat and into our day. So, if you ever feel like you just don't have enough time to do a long meditation, just remind yourself that even five minutes a day is enough to make a really big difference. Because in that time you can calm your nervous system, clear your mind, and train new neural pathways and create space for mindfulness to flow into the rest of your day.

And remember to get the big benefits of mindfulness, consistency really is key. As always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us. And let's settle in now for today's meditation.