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Last week, I made the case that building a habit is the best way to reach your meditation goals, because habits eliminate the need for that unreliable resource, willpower. I showed you how to structure a habit in a way that will lead to success.

It’s possible, however, that your habit plan doesn’t work as well as it should, or that your circumstances change, rendering the plan ineffective. When these things come up, it’s crucial to review and revise your plan, and your biggest ally is flexibility.

I recommend reviewing your progress and your habit plan weekly. This doesn’t take much time. Just ask yourself: Did I have any difficulty following my plan this week?

If you had difficulty following this week’s plan:

If you missed a day, or struggled to perform the behaviour, or felt like you had to force yourself, then your plan isn’t optimal. Review the cue, the behaviour, and the reward, and revise as necessary to create a better plan.

Maybe you chose the wrong cue. Maybe you thought you’d be able to meditate immediately after your morning coffee, but it turns out the kids always interrupt you at that time. So, choose a different cue and try again.

Maybe the behaviour was too big, complex, difficult, or time-consuming. Make this week’s behaviour easier. Aim for something that is so easy you can’t possibly fail.

 

This Week's Peaceful Moment

 

Maybe the reward isn’t particularly rewarding, or maybe you’re forgetting to reward yourself. Find a better reward and/or create a reminder so you don’t forget to reward yourself.

Be flexible in how you approach the review and revision of your plans. There’s no one right way to do this. Aim to create a plan that works for you - and if it doesn’t completely conform to my guidelines, who cares? All that matters is that it works.

Here’s an example. I had a student who said she’d chosen a cue that worked, but it only worked during the week. It failed on weekends, because it didn’t reliably come up every Saturday and Sunday. She didn’t want to change the cue because it worked so well on weekdays. She decided to keep using it, but use a different cue on weekends - a flexible solution. She tried it and it worked. Perfect!

If you did NOT have difficulty following this week’s plan:

If your plan worked, just keep following it, but review it again next week to stay on top of any changes. You might also consider ramping up your behaviour. Do this only if you feel the current behaviour has become habitual, that is, you feel like you won’t skip it.

Ramp up very slowly. Make the behaviour just a tiny bit longer, or more difficult, or more complex. Ensure that you will be successful every time you perform the behaviour.

I recommended you begin a meditation habit with just 3 mindful breaths every day. To ramp up, you could move to 1 minute of meditation per day. The next ramp up would be to 2 minutes per day. The ramp up won’t feel like it requires a lot more effort, so it’s likely you’ll be successful.

 

If you want more guidance in habit planning, check out our new ebook, Your Meditation Action Plan. It provides a full 12-week, step-by-step program for creating a meditation habit using the principles described here. You’ll get it free when you sign up for the