How To Meditate Without Getting Bored (Top 8 Tips)

How To Meditate Without Getting Bored (Top 8 Tips)

Ever struggled with meditation because it seems boring? You’re not the only one, in fact, it’s a strong reason many choose to leave the practice. 

But meditation isn’t always supposed to be fun, a boring meditation can be a way to put your instant gratification to the test and grow as a person, giving a new identity to boredom that will reflect outside the practice. 

No one wants to feel bored, but overcoming boredom is something only a few can achieve, but what if you could be one of them? And what if you could make your meditation less boring? 

While boredom is often gonna be part of the practice sooner or later, it’s good to start meditation with a good impression, and if your impression of meditation has been boring up until this point, to the point where you consider abandoning the practice, these 8 tips I’ll give might help with overcoming boredom with meditation, as well as making the practice more enjoyable. 

1. Accepting The Boredom

Meditation, at first glance, doesn’t seem to be something we associate with recreation

With meditation, a big part comes down to being in the present moment and being an observer. If you observe boredom, and just notice it, without attaching a label to it, but merely try to exist with the boredom, it’s less likely to affect your practice. 

This might not be the most attractive answer, but it works. Whichever thing you observe and don’t attach with, the less such thing has power over you. 

In this case, boredom is a big roadblock for many, because if you are used to instant gratification, going from doing something the mind considers “fun” to something “boring” will be a huge paradigm shift and it takes time for meditation to rewire the brain

However, the upsides that come with accepting boredom is that the threshold for reward and by extension, happiness is easier to fulfill, so you’ll end up learning to find enjoyment in the smallest things, which will mean you won’t have to look far for some type of fulfillment. At that point, boring becomes the new fun. 

Enjoying boredom puts you ahead of meditators and even non-meditators when they feel like the flow of time is endlessly extended when they feel bored. 

2. Meditate With a Pet

One of the most wholesome and best meditations you can do is to meditate with a pet. A pet provides unconditional love, which will often spread to us in the form of joy. 

Animals also make great meditators, as they already are in a perpetually present state. Wouldn’t it be wholesome and insightful to learn meditation from a cute animal, and more so, meditate with one? I definitely think so and can vouch for meditating with pets. 

They take away the boredom from the experience and it’s nearly a perfect way to be present. It’s often hard to get our attention away from a cute pet, more so when we’re engaging with meditation, where we are amplifying the ability to stay focused on the now. I guess the only exception to this rule is if you’re not a pet person. 

3. Meditate While Walking

Or running, or exercising. At the moment of being present while doing those things, you can hardly associate it with something boring. It might seem boring at first before we start, but while we’re at it, it feels pretty therapeutic. 

So if you start meditating while doing these additional good habits, you’re more likely to create a positive subconscious association with meditation, making you see meditation as something enjoyable, since you’d be setting yourself up for that type of meditation from the start. You don’t have to sit still while meditating, even if it’s one of the best ways to unwind.  

But you might be able to unwind from physical exercise, walking or perhaps running. If that’s you, use it with meditation to make the experience more enjoyable. 

4. Meditate In a Different Time

You might be used to meditating at the same time every day, which is great when it comes to building a routine, but it might not work for everyone and some might find the structure of it boring.

It might work for you, and you might need to experiment which time of the day makes meditation more enjoyable. If it’s after work, you might be overwhelmed by what’s happening in the day and want something that’s at a fast paste, at which point, meditation might not do it for you at that time. 

Or you might find that meditation only can be done at a certain time for you to associate the practice with something enjoyable. The more you enjoy the session, the faster you’ll progress. 

5. Changing Your Environment

If you are used to meditating in a specific room, meditating in a different place might make you feel like something is off with the meditation. 

Now, in theory, meditation can be done anywhere at any time by just anyone. But it doesn’t mean it should. 

You might find an easier time finding peace and reaching a flow state if you meditate in nature, or in a quiet environment. If there’s an environment you associate with joy and the absence of boredom, you can try using that environment for meditation. 

After all, meditation can be done in many different ways and you need to find what resonates best with you and what helps you stick with it. 

6. Use a Guided Meditation

Guided meditations are meant to steer your experience in a certain direction. Not everyone enjoys the autonomy of meditations done without guidance, and that’s fine, if your only way to meditate is through guided meditation, and you’re able to stick with it, continue by all means. 

A certain guided meditation might help you avoid some of the pitfalls and roadblocks you might stumble upon as a beginner, and many want some sense of orientation when they are meditating. 

Aside from using a journal to write down your experiences, guided meditations provide a clear path on where to move to achieve a specific result. If you know where you are going with the meditation, you might be able to reduce any sense of boredom you get from the practice. 

7. Set a Timer

Your mind might only be able to do a certain minute of quality meditation before it starts wandering off and associating the practice with something boring. 

Be accepting of that and instead of trying to fight it, consider setting a timer for how long you can meditate while being immersed in the practice. 

The more immersed you are in the practice, the less likely you are to find any boredom with it. If it is just five minutes, start with five minutes and increase gradually the more you’re able to keep your attention on the meditation. 

Those micro-commitments lead to bigger commitments, which, looking at the bigger picture, is what’s important to build the habit. When you’re starting out, the quality of your meditation is more important than the length of your meditation. The idea is for you to find your personal sweet spot. 

8. Meditate While Taking a Bath/Shower

One of the benefits of meditating while taking a bath or showering is that it can intensify the relaxation you’re already feeling. Many tend to associate bathing or showering with something pleasant, soothing, and relaxing. 

you add meditation into that equation, you can start associating meditation with something of that nature. I don’t know about you but I personally don’t associate boredom with something relaxing and calming, and that’s the point we want to reach with meditation. 

It also doesn’t involve focusing on your breathing necessarily, which many find boring. Instead, you can focus on what’s surrounding you and almost try to be one with the water surrounding your body.