Laziness may be why meditation is still on your to do list.

Laziness is the biggest obstacle in meditation.

The benefits of meditation are enough to make anyone want to try it. However, the thought of squeezing even one more thing into your calendar may the reason you’re putting it off. Did you know that over scheduling yourself is actually a form of laziness? It’s one of the interesting things that we learned from reading Susan Piver’s book How not to be afraid of your own life. 

Laziness like many other things in life is more complicated than you might think and important to understand. It’s the main reason people don’t follow through on their commitments whether to a meditation practice, an exercise routine or other life enriching practice.

We summarized the types of laziness and the antidotes for it to help you take the next step toward a sharper, more peaceful mind.

Three types of laziness

1/ Regular Laziness: Mistaking laziness for fatigue. Your mind tells you things like you like “You can do your errands tomorrow” or “Rest is more important than meditation”.

2/ Discouragement: Lacking noticeable progress which makes you feel like giving up. Discouragement can rob you of your commitment to meditation or exercise.

3/ Busyness: Overbooking your schedule so that there is no time for self care.

Laziness has four antidotes because it is the biggest obstacle.

Antidotes to laziness

1/ Trust: Remembering the insights and feelings that led you to the practice.

2/ Aspiration: Realizing results generally strengthens conviction.

3/ Effort: Deriving pleasure from the effort you put into your practice.

4/ Pliancy: Practicing turns meditation into a habit.

Starting a Meditation Practice

If you’re interested in starting a meditation practice, we recommend starting with a short practice. Susan offers a free 5 minute video that’s a perfect way to test the waters. It’ll give you a good idea of what you need to feel supported in your practice.