What’s the probability you’ll meditate today?

Hey, I have this meditation class you might be interested in.

You’ll be guaranteed to get 30 minutes of meditation into your week. And, I’ll give you a homework assignment, which will help you incorporate this into your daily life.

“But, what’s a few extra minutes? What’s the difference if I go or if I don’t go?”

Every single minute you spend meditating makes it easier to meditate in the future.

You have this fantasy that you will be able to solve your “can’t meditate consistently” problem once and for all.

That’s not going to happen.

You need to hack away at it until you figure out what’s going on underneath the surface. The only way to do that is to try meditating and see what happens.

“Can’t I just do this on my own? Why would I come to your class?”

Yeah, you could do it on your own. But, will you?

Seriously, look at your own behavior and see what you’re likely to do.

Tell me, right now, how many times have you tried it on your own?

“I don’t know. Lots.”

What would you estimate is the probability you’re likely to meditate today for 30 minutes?

“If I do it, 100%. If I don’t do it, 0%. “

Which is it?

“I don’t know.”

Obviously, if you sign up for the class, the probability will be close to 100%.

If you don’t…well, let’s figure it out.

How many days in the past 30 days have you meditated for half an hour? Give me a number.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

No, I’m serious. Give me a number.

“Um…3?”

So, the probability that you’ll meditate on any given day in a 30-day month is 10%.

“But, if I make a decision to do it, it will happen.”

Alright, how many days have you made a decision to do it? Give me a number.

“Um…10?”

So, out of 10 days in which you made a decision to meditate, you actually did it 3 days.

Thus, the probability that you’ll meditate on a given day, given that you made a decision to meditate that day, is 30%.

On the other hand, if you sign up for the class, the probability you’ll meditate is almost 100%.

Which do you think will lead to better results?

You don’t need more willpower. It’s much easier to simply trust people like me to make this problem disappear.

“How do I know you’re trustworthy?”

You don’t know. I might not be.

But, do you have a better idea?

Besides, if you sign up for a class, and you don’t like the class, I’ll give you your money back.

“Alright, where do I sign up?”

Take a look at the schedule.