Feel Like You Suck at Meditating?

(air hissing) (mouse clicking) (gentle music) Headspace Studios. (gentle music continues) Hi friends, it's Rosie here. Welcome to "Radio Headspace." One of the things I truly love about this work, sitting right here with you, sharing these little windows into life, is that I also get to hear your stories, not just about meditation, but about what's real, the hard stuff, the funny stuff, the trying to figure it all out stuff. And one thing that comes up over and over again, especially when it comes to meditation, is this feeling of, "I'm doing it wrong." I hear from so many people who say things like, "I don't think meditation is working for me. I just can't do it the right way. Maybe my mind is too chaotic for this." And I get it, I've felt that way too, especially in the beginning when you think it's going to be this magical blissed out experience, and instead it's just you sitting with your very loud brain. But here's the thing, you're not doing it wrong. This is, in fact, the practice. I remember when I first started meditating, I would get so frustrated. I thought, "Why is my mind still wandering? Shouldn't I be better at this by now?" Like I was supposed to level up and eventually become one of those people who float into the room smelling like sandalwood, radiating peace, and that's not real. What is real is showing up, messy mind and all, and learning how to notice, to observe, to sit beside the noise instead of getting pulled into it. People often think the goal is to stop thinking. It's not. Your brain thinks, that's what it does. You wouldn't get mad at your stomach for digesting. Meditation is not about shutting your mind down, it's about changing your relationship to what's already happening in there. And every time you notice your mind has wandered and you bring it back, that's it, that's the rep, that's the work. It's not glamorous, it's not relaxing, but it's powerful. Meditation isn't about perfection, it's about presence. And it's not about doing it right, it's about showing up honestly with whatever you're carrying that day. So if you're sitting down to meditate and your mind is all over the place, pause, take a breath, ask yourself, "What am I bringing into this practice right now?" Just notice, no judgment, curiosity over criticism. That's the move. One of my teachers once told me, "You are not meditating to become good at meditation, you're meditating to become good at life." And that stayed with me because when we soften our expectations and stop trying to win at mindfulness, the practice meets us exactly where we are. And that's when it becomes something we can trust, something that travels with us through every season, not just the calm ones. So if you've been feeling like you're bad at meditating, you're not, you're a human being with a human mind, just keep...