How do I get motivated to meditate?

2456249

Every day I plan to meditate when I get off work, but when I get home all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch TV. For example yesterday I came home watched TV and then said to myself, "I need to meditate." So I turned off the television and closed my eyes, but my mind felt extremely overwhelmed with thoughts that even my eyes wouldn't stay closed. So I stopped literally within 2 minutes. How do I get motivated, stay motivated and keep my eyes closed?

federica

Practice.

Practise, practise, practise, practise, practise.

Nothing good ever comes easy.

Patience and perseverance pay.

Oh, and , PS:
Cut the plug off the tv.

zenmyste

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary

how

Planning to meditate just when you get off work is an excellent practise but might best be reserved for when your practise becomes more regurlized..
So
It might be easier to slip into a regular practise if you find a time in the day when your thoughts are not so energized. First thing in the morning when you wake up may be an easier entry to scheduled meditation. Try sitting in meditation whether you do it for 3 minutes or 30. If that works try adding another period just before you go to sleep.

Jeffrey

Get tired of suffering. I have heard psychotic voices for 3 months every day and when I wake up.

The past day and today I have just meditated from 11 am when I wake until 8 pm when I go to sleep. I'm planning on meditating every day all day for the rest of my life because the voices are so painful and meditaton stabilizes me and makes me think more clearly.

So get tired of suffering!

Tosh

Try making a firm determination to do it, and then do it.

Easier said than done though.

SattvaPaul

I think it would help to clarify for yourself why do you want to meditate. Then, if you decide to do it, take it gently in small steps and don't be too hard on yourself.

Having small breaks during the day - even on the sofa - going back to the breath even for a few minutes, can be such a step.

seeker242

To associate with other people, in real life not just on the internet, who are doing the same, is very helpful for motivation.

BonsaiDoug

I'm just wondering... if you need to be motivated to meditate, then perhaps in your mind and heart you're not convinced of the importance of meditation? Perhaps at this point in time you just haven't had that "ah ha!" moment as to the "why" you should be meditating? I think when that moment happens you won't be seeking out what to do to get yourself onto the cushion. You'll just do it.

Perhaps some Sutta/Sutra readings? Here's a start: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/search_results.html?cx=015061908441090246348:al1bklhbjbi&cof=FORID:9;NB:1&ie=UTF-8&q=meditation

driedleaf

Meditation is watching your mind, and noticing what goes on in your mind while focusing on an object such as the breath. By focusing that means not dropping attention from it, but not to bee too focused on it as to feel uneasy. We start off meditation by relaxing our mind and body first, then we get into the focus. It is not that easy to do, but you can do this anytime anywhere anyplace. Even if you can do it for one minute before turning on the tv, you will be surprised how that one minute of meditation just seems like the natural thing to do.

DairyLama

Cut the plug off the tv.

:hair:

DairyLama

Every day I plan to meditate when I get off work, but when I get home all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch TV.

Get up half an hour earlier and meditate before you go to work. Problem solved.

Sabre

Instead of saying to yourself "I need to meditate", say "I choose to meditate". Meditation is not a chore, it's fun!

DairyLama

Meditation is not a chore, it's fun!

Though sometimes it feels like a chore.

Songhill

Meditate during commercials.

Sabre

Meditation is not a chore, it's fun!

Though sometimes it feels like a chore.

sssstt, don't tell

Sabre

But seriously, if meditation starts to get some results, the mind will jump towards it and you'll often look forward to meditation. But before that happens, you need some effort to get started.

Also, two minutes is way to short to give it a serious go. Sometimes the mind is like a train at full speed. You can't stop that suddenly. It takes time. This is of course especially the case when you just got home from work. The mind is still in an active mindset.

karasti

Many teachers recommend that you start slowly with short time periods and progress to longer ones. One of the things people struggle with in deciding to meditate is to try to sit for 30 minutes the first time. Then they are disappointed with how restless they felt. I started with 5 minutes, and just added some time here and there. Went to 7 mins, then 10, then 12, 15, 20, 25 and 30. I can sit for however long I want or need to now, but in the beginning, the 5 minutes seemed to last forever.
There are days my alarm goes off and I still struggle to wake myself up to meditate. It's the same thing with my workouts, I struggle to start, but once I've started I never, ever regret it. So I just have to remind myself of that, how I feel when I do it versus how I feel when I skip it. Both (meditation and my workouts) make enough of a difference in my life on a daily and long-term basis that I force myself to start because I know once I do, I won't stop.

Zero

So I turned off the television and closed my eyes, but my mind felt extremely overwhelmed with thoughts that even my eyes wouldn't stay closed. So I stopped literally within 2 minutes. How do I get motivated, stay motivated and keep my eyes closed?

Get motivated = sit down for a moment and decide who is running the show - the person that runs the show says 'do this' and it is done - make sure you are in the driving seat.

Stay motivated = remember step 1 above - if everytime you stepped close to me I slapped your face, how many slaps would it take before you put 2 and 2 together and stopped stepping close? take your slaps - remember.

You managed it for 2 minutes - excellent result, a perfect 2 minute meditation - now try 2m1second meditation - much tougher than a 2 minuter but you did that alright so worse case, you will fail and be back at 2 minutes... nothing to lose - give it a go - keep trying until you can - move to 2 minute2second meditation when mastered... rinse + repeat

Eyes dont have to be closed for meditation - try different ways - variety is the spice of life.

genkaku

Stop making promises you can't keep. Broken promises accumulate and cause undue stress. Focus instead on the promises you can and do keep. Did you promise to go to work? Did you go? Good. Did you promise to brush your teeth? Did you do it? Good. Did you promise to vacuum the living room? Did you do it? Good. Be aware of what you did promise even when you didn't really notice that you had promised.

Promise ... deliver. Promise ... deliver. Promise ... deliver.

Once this habit gains some traction, then consider meditation. Not, is it something all the 'good Buddhists' do; not is it something you feel you should do; not whether you will attain some god-knows-what reward if you do do it. Just consider it honestly.

Then, when you get an honest bead on how you honestly feel about it, consider tomorrow. When might there be five or ten or twenty minutes free? Then decide if you want to make a promise regarding that time. We're talking honesty here ... there is no right or wrong answer. There is only your answer.

Promise ... deliver. Promise ... deliver. Promise ... deliver.

And if you promise to meditate, then do it. No more excuses or explanations or hopeful dilly-dallying. Just do it because you promised and because keeping a promise is part of what makes things easier. Do it without regard to whether you may do it again or not. One promise at a time, with honesty in between ... just do it ... and things will be easier.

DairyLama

Meditate during commercials.

GeminiVI

Maybe this isn't exactly what you're looking for. But I found that dharma talk to be very motivating. Please let me know what you think of it if you listen to it.

DairyLama

One of the things people struggle with in deciding to meditate is to try to sit for 30 minutes the first time.

You're right, and it's good to build up in manageable steps. But I'd say it is worth building up to 30 minutes, because it can take 15 or 20 minutes to basically settle the mind.

karasti

I totally agree. My meditation practice is much more settled, much better, and much more...productive I guess, when I sit for more than 20 minutes than it is to sit for 5. But, prior to the first retreat I went to, I'd try to sit for a half hour and failed miserably and it totally turned me off of meditation because of it. Doing it for 5 minutes was easier, and after some practice, it was more enjoyable than feeling forced. Now I think I could probably meditate for hours if I had the time to do so. Start small but work, definitely. I do find that if I meditate for say a half hour in the morning, that I can do smaller meditation breaks during the day and regain my being in meditation much faster, my mind settles more quickly, and I can meditate for 5-10 minutes a couple times a day and that helps quite a lot.

PrairieGhost

I posted this on another thread:

Ok, one possibility is, rather than doing 1 hour every day and finding it a chore, you could try, one time, to say to yourself, ok, I'm going to do this all day. Making a big effort to get through into bliss, even a little bliss or comfort in watching the breath, can be useful because after you've felt that, it becomes much easier to persuade your mind and body to meditate again. The big thing is making sure you feel ok with letting go of all the distractions for one day.

p.s. I've never been able to meditate with my eyes closed.

Linc

Next time, stay sitting for 3 minutes.

MaryAnne

Every day I plan to meditate when I get off work, but when I get home all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch TV. For example yesterday I came home watched TV and then said to myself, "I need to meditate." So I turned off the television and closed my eyes, but my mind felt extremely overwhelmed with thoughts that even my eyes wouldn't stay closed. So I stopped literally within 2 minutes. How do I get motivated, stay motivated and keep my eyes closed?

Maybe at this point in your (new) practice and travels down the Buddhist Path, meditation is not for you, at least not right now. Don't sweat it. Instead of actual meditation, try "mindful focus" on tasks at hand, or just taking a few quiet moments at random points throughout the day.

Turning the TV off and going to bed? Well great, turn it off - but before getting up and heading to the bedroom, settle back, take a few deep cleansing breaths -- do this not to meditate, but to just relax.... relax and focus on your slow, gentle breathing.... in and out.... in and out.... good way to prepare for sleep, (this routine), even if it doesn't end up becoming formal "meditation".
Not every Buddhist meditates. Not everyone can for a number of reasons, and "just not motivated" can be one of them. But there are other ways to be mindful and develop an inner quiet and sense of reflection. This can be done anywhere at any time; while walking the dog, while doing the dishes or laundry, while showering in the morning; any time, really.

That's my two cents.

DairyLama

p.s. I've never been able to meditate with my eyes closed.

You don't have to - and a lot of traditions meditate with eyes open.