Should I Meditate?

What do Madonna, Steve Jobs, Joe Namath, Oprah Winfrey, Phil Jackson, Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Seinfeld, Kobe Bryant and Clint Eastwood have in common? Yes. They’re all leaders in their industries, but they share something else: meditation.
These illustrious people, who come from a range of disparate backgrounds, attribute part of their success to meditation. So could meditation also help make you more successful?

The following questions offer a guide:

1. Do you often worry about things you can’t control?
2. Do you have chronic pain?
3. Would you characterize yourself as stressed?
4. Does your day sometimes feel like it passes in a fast-moving blur that’s beyond your control?
5.  Do you often feel impatient?
6.  Do you have trouble sleeping?
7. Do you find yourself not listening to others because you’re distracted by other thoughts?
8. Do you find it difficult to concentrate throughout the completion of one task?
9. Do you worry about the past or future frequently?
10. Do you find that you sometimes react to situations and later regret what you said?

If you answered “yes” to one or more of the above questions, meditation could be beneficial for you. Research shows that mindfulness practices can help improve mental focus, treat insomnia, reduce anxiety and stress, help address pain and train the mind to respond as opposed to react.

But meditation isn’t for everyone, and it’s not a wonder drug meant to replace psychotherapy or address severe emotional disorders. If you have a compound fracture, go to the hospital. But if you’re curious about mindfulness meditation, try our founder Chade-Meng Tan’s book, Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace), or we welcome you at one of SIYLI’s international programs.