Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go to font for titles, paragraphs & more.
Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go to font for titles, paragraphs & more.
Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go to font for titles, paragraphs & more.
The most difficult part of doing my THING used to be finding motivation on days when I just wasn't feeling it. On those days, I tried to find a video, a podcast, a book, or something (ANYTHING) to inspire me. Too often though, I struggled to find anything good and ended up never doing my THING that day. I often thought, "It would be so nice to know exactly where to go to instantly find inspiration."
Well, my wish came true. That place is right here.
Welcome to The Inspiration Page.
On days where you're not feeling motivated to do your THING, this is the place you can turn for motivation.
I've put together the best free resources that you can use for inspiration while you're doing your THING. Not everything I found made the final cut. In other words, this is only the good stuff.
You can (and should) visit this page any time you do your THING. But I especially recommend visiting The Inspiration Page when...
1. You know all you need is one quick motivation boost to get yourself to do your THING.
2. Your free time for the day is just starting.
3. You are looking for ways to branch out of your usual routine.
4. You want to learn how others have done this same THING.
VIDEOS
Anytime you need a quick reminder about the basics of mediation, this should be your go-to video. Dan Harris (author of 10% Happier) and Sharon Salzburg (world-renowned mediation teacher) break down the basics.
"I think meditation is the single habit that has most improved the quality of my life." That's high praise. If you want to see what a regular meditation practice could do for you, this is a great video to watch.
Don't let the title of this video scare you. You do NOT have to be anywhere close to meditating for an hour a day to appreciate this video. Nathaniel touches on how meditation has helped him deal with anxiety as well as how meditation is more difficult than it seems.
Sebene explains that our technology use is like fire. It's a powerful tool, but it can get totally out of control if we don't keep it in check. She offers meditation-based guidance about how we can use technology mindfully.
Imagine millions of people watching your life coming unglued on national television. Dan Harris explains how he went from having a nationally televised panic attack to learning how to tame the self-defeating voices in his head.
Jon Kabat-Zinn is a legend in the meditation
world and Oprah needs no introduction. She's Oprah. This interview introduces the idea that mindfulness is a habit that you can practice all the time, not just when you carve out time to meditate.
podcasts
Untangle
Sometimes hearing from mediation experts over and over makes me feel like real meditation
results only happen to people who dedicate their life to this stuff. Fortunately, Untangle shares
stories from "real people" as well as experts about how mindfulness has helped them in life.
-
-
Recommended episodes: Stop Chasing Perfection and Be Happy, Living Your Best Life
-
Ten Percent Happier
Due in part to Dan Harris's work as an ABC News Anchor as well as his legitimate skill as a
podcast host, Ten Percent Happier pulls some legitimate celebrities to share their experiences
with mindfulness meditation. This is my favorite meditation podcast and a regular show in my
weekly podcast lineup.
-
-
Recommended episodes: Jon Mulaney, Brené Brown, Anderson Cooper, Danica Patrick, Josh Groban
-
A Bit of Optimism
Okay, this podcast isn't explicitly about meditation. But it's definitely meditation adjacent, and
I've been looking for a platform to share it because it's really outstanding. Simon Sinek, author
and famous TED Talk speaker, sits down with friends to have genuinely touching conversations
in the midst of the global pandemic. I count listening to one of these episodes as doing a guided
meditation because they help me feel mentally reset in the same way a good meditation does.
-
-
Recommended episodes: Courage with Guy Raz, Relationships with Christina Tosi and Will Guidara
-
apps
Insight Timer - free
4.9/5 star review with 238,000 reviews on the Apple App Store at the time of writing.
Ten Percent Happier - $99.99/year (free trial available)
4.8/5 star review with 67,000 reviews on the Apple App Store at the time of writing.
Headspace - $12.99/month (free trial available)
4.8/5 star review with 241,000 reviews on the Apple App Store at the time of writing.
Calm - $70/year (free trial available)
4.8/5 star review with 953,000 reviews on the Apple App Store at the time of writing.
Books
A budding newscaster’s journey from a work addiction to a surprising and hilarious
journey into the world of meditation and mindfulness. You'll like this book if you've
ever been curious if meditation could help you but you've been too skeptical to try it.
Don't worry, so was Dan Harris.
Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics - Dan Harris, Jeff Warren, Carlye Adler
A follow-up to 10% Happier, this book documents Dan Harris's cross-country
journey to teach mindfulness meditation to everyone from Anderson Cooper and
Josh Groban to strangers on Bourbon Street. I learned many differnet meditation
practices from this book, particularly from Harris's co-author Jeff Warren. If you read
two books during this THING to build your meditation practice, these two are
approachable, funny, and extremely helpful for beginners.
Wherever You Go, There You Are - Jon Kabat-Zinn
This book was recommended by Anderson Cooper in an interview with Dan Harris
for the Ten Percent Happier podcast. Jon Kabat-Zinn is a legend in the meditation
world and is the founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). He brought
meditation and yoga to mainstream medicine, and has dedicated his life's work to
scientifically studying mindfulness and proving the medical benefits of the practice.
This is his seminal work and has positively influenced it's readers since it was published
in 1994.
Radical Compassion - Tara Brach
In this book, Dr. Brach introduces the RAIN meditation, which is one of my favorite
mindfulness practices. RAIN allows you to investigate your emotions without feeding
the emotion. That might sound difficult, and it is. It takes practice. RAIN teaches you
to examine your emotions without taking them personally. Ultimately, this allows you
to experience negative emotions less intensely.
Websites
This website provides guidance for 100+ mental health topics, including meditation. It claims to help 150 million readers every year. Let's make it 150,000,001.
-
Recommended resources: How to sit when meditating, Mindfulness Meditation
Dr. Brach is an internationally-renown mindfulness meditation teacher. If you took one look at the very chill vibes on her website, you could probably have guessed that.
-
Recommended resources: Light RAIN in difficult times, Anti-racism resources
If you managed to snag a 6-letter domain, you'd better take advantage of that prime internet real-estate. Mindful.org is certainly doing that. They regularly feature content written by some of the best meditation teachers in the world.
-
Recommended resources: Breathscape Practice, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Connect with What Matters Now