At the beginning of the month, I wrote about taking on one – and only one – new habit each month. The first habit I decided to tackle was daily meditation. Now, a month later, I’m happy to say that I consistently meditate at least once (and usually twice) every day. As I’d hoped, this one habit has had a noticeable effect on my life.

Literally.

Jared told someone that he could see a difference in me.

That right there was huge for me. I feel like I am constantly changing, growing, and evolving – but I rarely feel like anyone else notices. Especially Jared. Friends, family, and strangers are more likely to comment on a personality change than my husband.

Of course, I had to push him for details on exactly what difference he’d noticed.

“It seems like your brain isn’t going all the time anymore,” he said. “Well, except the other night when you got yourself all worked up. Then your brain was firing on all cylinders!”

OK, so, it kind of sounds like meditation has made me stupid. Nonetheless, I think Jared has been relieved that my wheels haven’t been spinning quite as fervently as they usually do. I suspect it is exhausting to be near me sometimes; it’s certainly exhausting to be me when I can’t stop thinking. Meditating every day has quieted my brain.

It has also taught me that not every thought I have is worth recording. Or remembering. Or holding on to.

When I first began meditating, I was afraid of letting thoughts go. What if I forgot? What if my brilliant ideas went to waste? What if I couldn’t remember that witty comment once my meditation was over? I had to trust myself enough to let the thoughts float by, hoping that they would come back later. The good ones always did.

Meditation has helped me appreciate the importance of right now.

This one skill has made me infinitely happier, if only because my sadness can be limited to the present instead of stretching out far beyond the foreseeable future until it drowns me. Forward thinking that leads to desperation has always been a common side effect of my depression, so I’m especially grateful to have this tool.

Meditation has helped me learn how to be kinder to and more patient with myself.

I read once that meditating is really good for people who are bad at it, because it’s working extra hard on the self control muscles. I like to joke, then, that meditation must be especially good for me, because I suck at it. My mind wanders. My brain wants to chatter. But time and again, I bring myself back to center.

At first, I got frustrated that I was needing to clear my mind over and over again. I was annoyed that repetition wasn’t curing me of my scattered thoughts. Shouldn’t I have developed enough enlightenment to meditate without any mental distraction? Whether I should have or not, I wander. I no longer care. The wandering is not near as important as the reset – which I’ve gotten pretty good at thanks to all that practice.

I feel pretty confident that I can keep this habit up, especially if I don’t start adding too many other new habits on top of it. I’m excited to see what other changes may come in me as a result – and whether anyone else will notice.

This month: I’m drinking more water.

Have you added a new habit to your life recently? Are you thinking about adding one?

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The winner of the $10 Amazon Gift Card from Monday’s giveaway was Sheila C, who shared her happiness highlight:

My 22 year old daughter came home for the weekend…probably the last before she leaves for the PhD program she was accepted into in California…2499 miles away. To be honest, this was a mix of happy and sad. I am so happy she is following her dream and has been blessed with the opportunity to do so…so sad she will be 2499 miles away! But happy I got to spend the weekend with her. We played UNO, talked and went to a new French restaurant.

I’m pretty sure this is exactly how my own mother feels every time I leave her house to set off on another adventure. Sheila – the gift card should be in your inbox today. Congratulations!

If you have a product you’d like to offer up for a “happiness highlight” giveaway, email me at brittmariereints@gmail.com