A year ago, I was inspired by a friend’s article to do 3 things —

• Meditate daily
• Write something I am grateful for daily in a journal
• Fast every Tuesday

It was not easy at all and I failed on two of them — journaling and fasting. However, meditation daily has been amazing for me. I just completed 365 days in a row of meditating!

I’ve been using the Headspace app daily with a mix of 10-minute or three- minute meditations daily. It is the first time I’ve done something other than sleep, eat and brush my teeth, continuously each day. It has been brilliant for me.

Meditation has taught me many things. My key takeaways:

1. I don’t have to engage every thought in my mind. Rather, I can acknowledge the thought and move along. It’s like sitting on the side of a road and observing cars pass by. I don’t need to get onto the street to direct traffic. Just acknowledge and move on.
2. Same principle with my feelings. I can now better notice how I feel at the moment and sit with it. Let it be. I don’t have to think about it. It’s there. Then I can peel beneath it and identify the real emotions. This helps me properly recognize what is going on for me and share it if needed.
3. I’ve learned to focus on a specific thing. Mostly by focusing on my breathing. This is a great hack in conversations because when I notice I’ve gotten distracted I simply come back to my breathing and I find I’m now hearing the person speaking and focusing on them.

These have all helped me be more present and in the moment, and I hope a better human being. As with anything it’s about practice, and I’m continuing on the journey. The journey to be more mindful and present. Wish me luck!

Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 07: Tayo Oviosu

Jamarlin Martin catches up with Tayo Oviosu at SXSW 2018. Oviosu is the Founder and CEO of Paga, the leading mobile payments company in Nigeria.

This article on how to meditate was originally posted on Medium. It is reposted with the permission of the author, Tayo Oviosu. Read the original.