Sometimes just sitting there with your thoughts and your breath doesn't do the trick for you.

Or, sometimes you are just having an off week and your normal meditation routine might not be doing the job.

So, what do you do?

Change it up obviously... because continuing to try the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

Usually, all it takes is some testing to figure out what will help you more than meditation seems to be at the moment. 

This is not implying that you can never go back to meditation, just that sometimes it just becomes so routine that you aren't getting results anymore and you are doing it just to get it done.

So, change it up for a little while, test some new types of meditation and see what works for you before coming back to or even supplementing back in "regular" meditation.

​This is how to do that.

Just think about your workouts and diets, not the same types of diets work for everyone because everyone's bodies have different reactions to different foods. Same goes for workouts, a workout that gets results for one person might not get results for another person.

It's all about finding that right combination and meditation is no different.

Maybe you just have trouble sitting still and you just can't will yourself to sit and meditate. no worries, there is different types of moving meditations.

Or, maybe you were able to meditate by sitting and being with your thoughts but now it seems harder and harder to stay focused and "let go" during it because it is so engrained in your routine. Don't worry let's just help you try some new meditation forms for a while.

Or maybe your house is too loud and noisy all the time so you really can't meditate normally there, I have some options for that as well.

Or your roommate seems to never leave your dorm so you never have that time you need to meditate, other than when you are laying in bed but then you end up falling asleep. Don't worry I figured out how to my freshman year of college where this was a problem for me as well.

When a lot of people think about meditation, they think about some old guy sitting on a rock or something, overlooking a beautiful landscape and going "oooommmmmmm, oooommmmm."

But in reality it is a popular practice from people of all walks of life from teachers to college students and especially large company CEO's (more widely talked about than the other groups). These "ordinary people" just aren't talking about their meditation practice because it is not what is popular to talk about.

That is one of my goals with MMNTM, to get these mind practices and happiness practices more widely talked about, especially with people my age (in our 20's). So, let your friends know about yourmmntm.com if you enjoy this article.

Back to the basis of meditation...

At its core, meditation is just being alone with your thoughts so that you are able to become more present in your day to day life, understand why you are thinking the way you are,  understand the thought patterns you are having each day and just to let your mind wander and clear itself.

So, essentially any activity that can help you achieve this state of "present-ness" and help clear your mind so that you can reduce stress and figure out your thought patterns, will help you meditate.

And there are so many options to do this...

What exactly are these options for other types of meditation to help us achieve the states that I just talked about? Well, I will get to that in a second.

First, before I start explaining a few different options for you, I need you to realize that all of these are going to take your full attention, so that means you can't be distracted or on your phone during them. Simply treat these exercises as a meditation like you would do sitting down, in order for them to be effective you can't be getting distracted or be on your phone.

One of my favorite meditations is a walking meditation because it is super easy to do, you can do it anywhere and it is free.

All you have to do is leave your electronics and phone at home, pick somewhere to go walk and start a walk so that your mind can wander and think about things without the distraction of music or your phone.

This is a much different experience than taking a walk with music and could also be applied to your runs as well.

Next, a very similar one to that would be to go to the gym without your phone so that you aren't listening to music or a podcast and can be left alone with your thoughts. This does mean you can't be distracted any the TVs or anything though as well when you are at the gym.

I have found this one to be most effective when you go at slower times of the day such as late at night, early in the morning or afternoon when everyone is working.

Another one is one that you don't even have to go out of your way to do, you might just have to extend the time you are already doing this activity and that is taking a shower. Yes, taking a shower can be a great form of meditation because you really can't be that distracted while you are in there, if you don't have music on.

Ideally you can take a cold shower and meditate as this helps you stay hyper focused on your thoughts but you could also have a warm shower and end with a few minutes of cold, just make sure to turn off the music as I know we all love to blast music in the shower.

Finally, this one is actually one of my favorites-- learning a new skill.

​This may sound a little weird  but again, it is leaving you with your thoughts while you challenge yourself to learn something that you never thought of learning before such as yoga or playing an instrument. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, just take a new type of class you never would have before or learn something you never do, such as cook if you always eat out.

This challenges your brain, helps you stay present in one activity and helps you grow while you are also sitting there learning the thing with just you are your mind, just make sure you are not distracted again as that will take away from the experience.

Learn something crazy!

As I already explained before, these activities help you to be alone with your mind and thoughts to help you become more present and realize patterns that may be holding you back in life.

But, there is one other thing there as well...

These meditation ideas keep the "active and movement" part of your brain distracted while you can focus on just you and your thoughts.

These activities are all relatively easy and our bodies can do them on autopilot, except maybe the learning of a new skill but that is focused on keeping you more present and learning, so that we can one with our thoughts and not have to be thinking about what we are doing.

Another great example is driving to work or school, you know the route and everything and you can essentially get there on autopilot so shut off the music while you drive and be alone wioth your thoughts and ideas.

For all of you new to the MMNTM blog, this is the part of the blog where I give you workouts for your mind that are usually simple to execute on so that you can put to use what you just learned, only on yourmmntm.com!

Exercise #1: Walk/ Run Without Music, Podcasts or Your Phone
Reps: 1x per day
Duration: 30 minutes -1 hour
Notesa: Ideally in morning or evening

Exercise #2: Hit the Gym Without that Music or Your Phone
Reps: 1x per day or at least every other day
Duration: Whole workout

Exercise #3: Take a Drive
Reps: A few times per week
Duartion: 30 minutes
Notes: Ideally on familiar roads so you can be on autopilot essentially

Exercise #4: Take on A New Class
Reps: Once Per Week
Duration N/A
Notes: Something new that is physical, not just sitting in class room and somehting that you would never usually do.

I'm, glad you clicked on this article, because even if you don't think your stress is hurting your mental clarity and you are functioning "just fine," you are dearly mistaken.

Most likely the people that think they are functioning "just fine," haven't ever realized what it is like to work with more mental clarity and have a better mind to make decisions.

And I was in that same boat until I actually started to release some of the stress in. my life and body was it a game changer...

That is what this article is all about, not trying to convince you that your stress in life is bad, but to suggest what mental clarity and happiness you might be missing out on while you hold all of that stress in your life.

Let's get this started :)

Well, I could talk about how school, work and/ or your relationships are causing stress in your life, but that is already obvious.

Have you ever thought about things such as your mindset causing stress in your life? Or even habits such as using social media for hours a day? Didn't think so...

​What about if I told you something as simple as checking your phone right away in the morning could lead to stress throughout the day because this sets the tone that you are going to respond to others and not be in control the rest of the day, rather just reacting to what hapepns to you.

Or even that things that happened years ago, such as a break up, could still cause stress in your life today if there is still emotions attached to that person and you are worried about what they are doing on a day too day basis rather than just living your life.

These are just a handful of examples of things that cause stress without you realizing them, everyone has their different stressors, you have too figure out what yours are.

​(really dive deep, if you don't that stress will still be there)

Again, not here to talk about the obvious so yes, stress can cause anxiety but that is not the main focus.

What is the main focus is what this stress can do to our mental edge and mental clarity because if these things are wack and out of line, then the rest of our life will be not optimal as well.

Our mindset is the foundation to the rest of our life, we have two keep that in line and stress is not the move if you are trying to do that.

Stress can cause major brain fog which is actually kind of hard to "diagnose" per say, and many people don't even realize they have it until they feel what it is like without that brain fog.

When we are experiencing brain fog, we don't have the best decision making ability and can be a little confused on our goals, overall we just aren't thinking at optimal levels and that impacts the action that we are taking.

Oh, and guess what else is impacted in our lives when we have too much stress? Our sleep and with a lack of sleep, or quality sleep I should say, our brains are not going to be functioning at optimal levels, leaving many opportunities in your life on the table.

We really don't have to be wandering around life all confused and not really sure what is going on in our day to day lives. Just kind of following the patterns that we have set in place and not really giving too much thought about them.

But guess what? Those patterns obviously haven't worked in the past so why would they work now? That's insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

​Now Imagine if you were able to wake up, clear goals in mind and be able to take action mnore easily towards those goals?

How about waking up asnd not actually still feeling tired, bet that is a new one to you!

Even being able to think through problems more clearly without being easily distracted or lose focus.

Yes, stress can help all of that and then even more as well.

And no, I'm not done. Here is an actual plan on how to get started... in my favorite format: a "workout for your mind."

Exercise #1: Put that phone away for the first hour of your day.
Reps: 1x per day
Duration: 1 hour
Why?: Time too start living your own life and not just reacting to everything that happens to you, you will just be more stressed the second you turn on your phone between work and comparing your life to others on social media.

Exercise #2: No electronics for 1 hour before bed
Reps: 1x per day
Duration: 1 hour
Why?: Time to sit with your thoughts, get better sleep to reduce stress and maybe even time to try this next exercise...

Exercise #3: Meditation (ideally outside)
Reps: 1-2x per day
Duration: 20 minutes
Why?: One major stressor is living in the past, time to bring yourself to the present moment and embrace new opportunities.

Exercise #4: Evening walk without technology
Reps; 1x per day
Duration: 30+ minutes
Why?: Sometimes you need to "stop and smell the flowers," literally. This is one of my favorite ways to live more in the present and appreciate what's around me rather than be constantly stressed about the future.

Thanks so much for another great day on the blog an will look forward to seeing you back tomorrow at yourmmntm.com/blog

Also, @yourmmntm on social media if you have any comments or questions!

​-Taylor

Meditation is not the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of college, and it probably isn't even in the top 100 things that come to your mind when you think of college.

When many people hear the word meditation they instantly think of something along the lines of someone sitting outside on a rock going "Ummmmmmmmmm... Ummmmmm," or they think of a monk that they may have seen in a movie before.

While that might be the case way back when, it is the 21st century now and meditation has been found to have countless benefits for people of all ages. That is why many of the top business people have started to meditate daily, as well as people of all ages.

Soon it is going to be a very common practice, so I really had to try it for myself to see if these benefits were actually legit and if it was something that could help me now and in the future.

I was pleasantly surprised by what I started to notice in my life and think you will be as well...

Alright, so why did I start meditating in the first place and how did I even think about starting?

Well, I was at a low point in college and really did not enjoy the habits I had formed or the routines I was in day to day and I was not being productive at all. On top of that, my girlfriend had just broken up with me and I really had no idea who I was anymore.

Rather than just riding out the college experience like this, I decided to move home and start focusing on my habits and things I actually enjoyed doing more. I started researching for a few days and then ultimately decided on the first few habits I wanted to focus on and since then I have tried and tested countless habits and routines in order to improve everything from my happiness to productivity.

It so happened that after doing more and more research on habits and routines, that I came across how popular meditation really was and the lasting benefits it could have on your life. Sure, I have heard of meditation before but really didn't give it much thought because I thought "I was in college, why do I need to meditate?"

Thank god I did though as it has been one of the habits that has helped me the most as the benefits stretch across all areas of your life from your sleep to your mindset and happiness.

If you are interested in hearing about some of my other habits that I have enjoyed the most, I made a whole post about that right here >>

Sure, even once a day is a great place to start but twice a day has helped me see the most benefits as a morning meditation and evening meditation have different benefits, both of which I was searching for in my life.

Plus, if you are strapped on time even just a ten minute one in the morning and night will give you some great benefits, you don't have to be sitting for an hour meditating every day you just don't have that kind of time most likely.

​In terms of a morning meditation, this one is for a few major benefits that I was looking for in my life including:

• First off, I wanted to organize my thoughts better as in college we all have a million things going through our mind at one time, so organizing them and knowing exactly what is important to get done is essential.
• Second, I wanted to slow down for a moment in the morning to really take control and not immediately wake up and be in a hurry to get to class or checking social media right away, I wanted to control my day.
• Most importantly, I wanted to improve my mindset and happiness. When you take time to slow down during the day and enjoy the world in the moment you are in, you slowly start to improve your mindset and start enjoying your days more and more.

In terms of having a meditation at night, this one was very important to me for these reasons:

• I wanted a more consistent sleep schedule and in order to do this I had to make sure I was getting to be at the same time every night. Most nights I had too much going on in my mind to fall asleep fast and this was where meditation came into play. It helped to clear my mind and get me focused on sleep.
• I didn't have 8 hours to sleep every night so I wanted to help "hack my sleep" and get more deep sleep in less time and meditation helped me reach that deeper sleep in a faster amount of time.
• I also wanted to take away some of the lessons I learned each day as well as better go over some thoughts or ideas I had during the day and during meditation was a perfect time to do that. This has helped me remember more, especially in terms of what was going on in each of my classes.

Maybe to your surprise, you really don't need to carve out that much time from your day in order to meditate, maybe 10-20 minutes in the morning and the same amount at night. We can all find an extra 20 minutes or even 40 minutes when you start getting better at meditation and see some more powerful benefits. Just get off of social media at night an right away in the morning and I bet that opens up enough time for you to meditate!

In terms of the exact routine that I go through it is actually pretty simple:

• In the morning I do a 10-15 minute meditation after my walk before I go on my phone for the first time that day.
  • I listen to a YouTube guided meditation usually around positive energy or gratitude in order to start the day on the right note.
• In the evening I do a 20 minute meditation or sleep hypnosis in order to clear my mind and relax my body in order to get some more effective sleep.
  • I also find these on YouTube as they are free and very good guided sleep meditations actually, plus who wants to pay when we are all in college and have other bills to pay?

Who doesn't want better health, happiness, sleep, relationships and even grades? Everybody wants that and this one habit has the power to help you with all of those things.

You will start to relax more at night and reach a deeper sleep for a longer period of time, meaning that you could potentially get better sleep with fewer hours in bed. A lot of people, especially in college, are tired when they wake up even if they get 8 hours of sleep and that is because they are not reaching a deep sleep for long enough each night.

Meditation is a great habit to help you reach that deeper sleep each night and just one of many sleep hacks that I use, you can read about my other college sleep hacks here >>

​As I mentioned above, meditation has helped me organize my thoughts much more and increase my memory as I can go over what I learned each day as well as reach a deeper sleep faster which will allow your brain to rest more and develop more neural connections helping with your memory. This means you can potentially start to improve your grades and remember more on tests.

There are some other brain "hacks" in college in order to remember more and study less and I highly recommend you check those out here if you are looking to improve those grades >>

Finally, in terms of your mindset and happiness, you can start to let go of things that are holding you back or dragging yourself down and making you sad and that is one of the best thing you can do for yourself, there are specific meditations for this if you search what you are feeling on YouTube.

This means that you can start to enjoy your days more and what you have, rather than constantly chasing that next thing to make you happy. When you are more happy, people enjoy being around you more and you will start to see and improvement in your relationships.

A quick action plan for starting your college meditation routine today and improving your sleep, happiness, grades and so much more.

1. First, carve out a chunk of time in the morning and/ or at night for you to focus on meditating.
2. Second, figure out what the benefits you are trying to get are and if there are any feelings you want to let go of or if you are just trying to de-stress.
3. Start searching on YouTube for meditations directed around what you are feeling by just searching for "meditation for ______."
4. Find a guided meditation on YouTube from your search as this will be a great place to start rather than just sitting and meditating on your own until you start to get better at it. Meditation is a skill like any other thing that you have to form over time.
5. Turn off any distractions so you can fully focus on the meditation and get the most benefits.

We all run into these as it's just part of stepping outside of the comfort zone and growing as a person.

Don't get discouraged as you are going to have an unfocused mind and catch your mind wandering many times when you first start, even for the first month I have noticed.

Just catch yourself and bring yourself back into the mindset of being all into the meditation, it will improve over time as this is a skills we all have to work on and get better at.

Other than a more relaxed mind and getting rid of stress you might not see any results the first week or two just because it takes time to fully start getting the results you can get so don't give up so easily.

The being question here with a quick and simple answer... yes!

With all of the benefits I have seen after just the first month I really can wait to see where this takes me and I hope you join me on this journey as well. This is something that can impact your life and have lasting benefits when you stick with it, so don't just try it and then quit after a while, you will benefits yourself greatly in the long run if you stick with it.

This is also one thing that can help you develop your values and personality more which is super crucial to helping you stand out in the competitive job market where everyone seems to have the same skills as you.

Are you looking for more habits like this you can start to work on and set yourself apart in college or even just find some more happiness? Let me send you a few per week you can try out and start developing a routine for yourself, click here to get started >>

Thanks and have a great rest of your day,
​Taylor

If you are in college meditating might be the last thing you would think to think about, let alone do. In between classes, social life, working out and going out, you have a lot on your plate already.

I am here to show you why adding meditation to your daily routine will be the best thing you do during your college career because it will improve everything from your memory to your relationships and even your happiness.

With very busy schedules in college and constantly wanting to be busy doing something with your friends, it is easy to lose yourself and what your values are. Meditation helps with that as it grounds you, organizes your thoughts and keeps you focused.

Don't discount this right away thinking you don't have all of this time to start meditating, it can be done in as little as 10-20 minutes a day and you can even do it right when you wake up and/ or right before you go to bed so that you don't have to stop what you are doing during the day.

How does that sound? College is all about personal growth and you can't do that when you are constantly around the ideas of other people, take at least a few minutes each day to organize your thoughts and set your personal values straight.

There are a few main areas that meditation can help in as I have seen which include your sleep, your brain function, your relationships and your personal mindset.

Starting with your sleep, if you meditate before you go to bed every night you are going to clear your mind and organize your thoughts in a way that will help you get rid of all of the stress from the day that comes with going to college. You are not able to reach a deep sleep when you are stressed and this makes you tired the next day even if you sleep for 8 hours, instead when you start consistently meditating before bed, you will slowly increase the amount of deep sleep that you get meaning you will have better sleep in less time.

Next, in terms of brain function, you will start to see more clear ideas and more organized thoughts which means that you will be able to problem solve better and solve the solutions. Also, you will start to reduce "brain fog" which happens when your brain just isn't performing at optimal function and you really don't even realize you have this until you start to clear it up and you see what you have been missing.

That all makes sense but how is this going to help your relationships though?

Easy, as I mentioned above meditating in college will help ground you in a world where you are surrounded with people 24/7 and constantly feeding off of their ideas. When you start meditating and realizing what your own values are you can start to display those in your every day life, attracting more like minded people and potential partners if that is what you are looking for.

Finally, you can start to notice an improvement in your overall mindset and mood as you will bring about these values that I talked about above which will bring new meaning and confidence into your life. Everyone needs a little confidence to carry themselves.

When you focus on clearing your mind and getting rid of that stress that comes with the day to day grind of college, you start to feel more happy as well as you are living more in the moment and taking all of these unneeded weights off of your shoulders.

When a lot of people hear the word meditation they think about some old guy sitting on a mountain with his legs crossed going "Ummmmmmmmmmm, Ummmmmmmmmmmmm."

While meditating outside is definitely the best place to do so, nothing else about this picture is true really. Sure, maybe back in the day the only people meditating were monks and older people, but now it is actually a very common practice across most fields of work, especially for the top CEO's around the world.

For obvious reasons too, as I stated above, what CEO doesn't need to get rid of stress or maximize their sleep? I can't name a single one.

Another common misconception is that you have to spend days or even an hour meditating and that just doesn't fit into a lot of people's schedule. While there is retreats for meditations, us college kids don't have extra money for that or the time, instead meditation can be done in as little as 10 minutes per day or as long as you need to.

If you search for guided meditations on YouTube, they come up with meditations as short as 3 minutes to some as long as a few hours.

Finally, the last misconception is that right when you finish meditating the first time you will start to see results, while that may be true for some people, most likely it is going to take a week or two of consistent meditation before you start to see a new state of mind.

College comes with a lot of social pressures, everything from going out to parties to trying to fit in and even trying to find a potential relationship.

Combine that with a large amount of homework and pressure to do good in school and outside of school and you find yourself under a large amount of stress each day. When you are stressed you sleep worse, you perform worse on tests and you are more irritable.

How about you try meditating to get rid of that stress, start the day off more happy and positive and not thinking about problems that stress you out right away in the morning. 

When you start to de-stress and organize your thoughts through meditation you are also going to start to be able to work through problems better so you won't be thinking about a million other things as you are trying to solve the problem. This can lead to improved test scores and ability to comprehend information in class, something we all need improving in.

Finally, probably the most important thing is that meditation can increase the amount of happiness in your day to day life throughout college. Surprisingly, a ton of college kids are not happy, due to social and academic pressures, and are just going through the motions of their day, a lot of people actually fall into depression in college as it is really the first time you are alone and out in the world. (I write more about this here, in "The College Happiness Epidemic" >>)

Why would you not want to be more happy during the day? This will also translate to better results inside the classroom and outside the classroom, because more people will enjoy being around you if you are happy.

It is not as had as you might think it is to start meditating, it just takes some dedication because like anything you start for the first time, you are going to be uncomfortable and not the best at it. 

When you first start to meditate you are likely going to see your mind wander a lot and it will be hard for you to stay focused, this happens to everyone so just stick to the habit if you ant to see results.

Here is how you can get started:

1. Figure out a time of the day that works best for you to meditate, ideally in the morning or at night. Block out at least 10 minutes during that time of the day to make sure you have time to do it.
2. Figure out your goals for the meditation, what are you trying to get out of it and what results are you trying to get?
3. Try a few different types of meditations to see what works best for you, guided and unguided.
   1. I would recommend you start with guided for a few months at least until you are able to realize how to get the best benefits during your sessions.
4. Start YouTube searching for meditations as there are millions of good ones out there that will help guide you through a meditation for whatever emotions or time of day you are looking for.
   1. You can use the search bar to search for say "Guided meditations for stress" or whatever result you are trying to get and a ton of results will be sure to show up.
5. Be consistent, you are not going to get anywhere in any area of life if you give up after a few days or weeks, you have to stick with it to see results.

Thanks for stopping by the blog, I would love to share some more habits with you that I have found work amazing in college as there are so many that can help you do anything from study less and remember more to find more happiness in your day to day. Click here if you are interested in those habits >>

Otherwise thanks and I look forward to seeing you back tomorrow,
​Taylor