Should I meditate when I don’t feel like it?

Think of someone who has inspired you because they’ve cultivated some excellence in themselves, be it academic, athletic, artistic, professional, or anything else. All skills, including meditation, require some degree of effort. What constitutes the “Right” level of effort for you? The answer lies in your aspiration. Some people meditate as a form of mental hygiene, kind of like brushing their teeth. Some do it to enhance their performance or relationships. And some seek a radical transformation, liberation from fear, and spiritual enlightenment.

Whatever your motivation, if you feel the sincere interest and desire to develop yourself in this way, then it’s up to you to nourish that impulse. You nourish it in two ways — study and practice. “Study” brings the benefits and attributes that you wish to cultivate into sharp focus, so that you know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Knowing about what you’re doing and the effects that it will have helps to motivate you through that delicate period of time (about 6-8 weeks) between when you take up meditation and when you start noticing changes.

“Practice” means actually sitting down, closing your eyes, and observing your experience in the manner prescribed, and to keep doing it regularly, even when you don’t feel like it. As you gain experience, you will come to regard your “not feeling like it” as just another passing object in the mindstream, like a bubble in a glass of club soda. With time, you learn to give less and less importance to these bubbles, and to maintain a liberating detachment from them. As you develop this inner detachment through meditation, what you will spontaneously notice in your outer life is that things that used to bother or trigger you no longer do, and that you are able to remain calm and lucid even when challenged. As these attributes become solid and reliable, your confidence in the practice will grow, and the required motivation for practice will solidify.