When I first learned Mindfulness Meditation, I was immediately impressed by several features of the discipline.
Obviously, I found it relaxing and a way to help manage stress. I also began to appreciate being “in the moment” more – which enabled me to attain greater pleasure from my surroundings or the people with whom I was sharing the time.
But the thing that affected me the most was the development of the mindset that permits meditation to be learned as a skill in a manner that doesn’t permit self-criticism.
As you meditators out there know, it’s not unusual for extraneous thoughts to enter your mind during the time when you should really be focused on your breath. That is especially true early in the process. Meditators learn, however, that when they catch their minds wandering, their task is to acknowledge it and then gently bring themselves back to focusing on their breathing.
Self-criticism is not part of the process. During my learning phase, I was even encouraged to take pride in the fact that I noticed that my mind wandered – but then to gently bring myself back to the meditation over and over again, no matter how many times this occurred during one sitting.
There is a lesson to be learned from this that is applicable to non-meditative situations, and even situations where mindfulness is not involved. The lesson is simply this: If you are learning something or trying something new, you will probably make some mistakes. Accept that fact as a necessary part of the process. Don’t criticize yourself for actively trying to improve.
And don’t let it be an excuse for not continuing to try.