Ed. note: This post is by Jeena Cho, a Legal Mindfulness Strategist. She is the co-author of The Anxious Lawyer (affiliate link), a book written by lawyers for lawyers that makes mindfulness and meditation accessible and approachable. She is the creator of Mindful Pause, a self-paced online program for creating a more sustainable, peaceful, and productive law practice in just six minutes a day. Jeena offers actionable change strategies for reducing stress and anxiety while increasing productivity, joy, and satisfaction through mindfulness.
Change is hard. Forming a new habit (especially those that are good for you) is hard. One of the most challenging, and rewarding, habits I’ve been practicing for over six years is daily meditation.
How I Started Meditating
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Meditation was prescribed as one tool I could use to manage anxiety and stress. I knew from all the research that meditation was good for me. Yet, I could not make it part of my daily routine.
You see, I thought in order to be a “good” meditator, I had to meditate for at least 45 minutes per day. I would do this for several days, feel discouraged, and quit. Weeks would go by, and I would notice the anxiety and stress creeping back into my life, so I would once again, recommit to meditating for 45 minutes.
Then my teacher suggested that I let go of the struggle and meditate for just a few minutes. Every day. I started with just 6 minutes. I paid attention to the joy and delight of carving out a few minutes of silence where I paid attention to my inner world, free from external distractions. I increased slowly, over time.
Even now, after many years, I give myself the permission to sit for just a few minutes — especially on those days where it feels like the last thing I have time to do is meditate.
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Earlier this year, I went on a month-long silent meditation retreat. This could not have happened without a regular and consistent home practice.