10,000 Minutes of Meditation: Becoming the Expert of My Own Mind
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
10,000
They say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something.
Well, I haven’t hit 10,000 hours, but today, I hit 10,006 minutes of meditation. And that milestone doesn’t just mark time on a clock. It marks a shift in my entire existence.
It’s going to take a stable mind to push through this wild, messy, beautiful thing we call life. And what I’ve learned is this: when I keep my anchors in place - my practices, my values, my connection to self - my mind stays relatively calm. My nervous system doesn’t hijack me the way it used to. And I am never going back to the way things were.
That thought? That realization?
It feels REALLY F*CKING GOOD.
Not because I “mastered” meditation, but because I showed up. For me. Over and over again. Through depression. Through anxiety. Through panic attacks that used to leave me gasping and grasping for stability.
This wasn’t a glow-up.
This was a crawl-up.
Back to the Beginning
In October 2019, I made what I now know was the first real investment in my mental health. A friend was transitioning from being a pilot to starting her coaching business. As she spoke about her vision, something in me said, Yes. This is part of the path.
I joined her 3-month group coaching program, and those three months became my catalyst. One of the tools she introduced? Meditation.
At first, I fumbled. Her guided meditations were soothing, but could I really do this on my own? I downloaded Headspace, gave it a half-hearted try, and promptly ghosted my own healing.
But then, something shifted.
New Year, New Neural Pathways
New Year’s 2020. I was in an Airbnb in Brooklyn, my mind a chaotic snow globe of stress and restlessness. My thoughts were tangled.
And in that quiet moment of discomfort, I decided:
I am going to do this. For real.
Not perfectly. But consistently.
So I made the choice: I would gift myself this time. Ideally, every day.
Where I Am Now
Fast forward 5 years and 5 months.
10,006 minutes.
Not of perfection. But of presence.
This isn’t just about a meditation streak.
It’s about how I no longer need to numb my way through life.
It’s about how my mind is no longer my enemy. But my ally.
I used to sit in anxiety, depression, and a cycle of excessive drinking to self-soothe.
Now? My mind is a garden.
It’s full of CREATIVITY. JOY. PEACE. HOPE. LOVE.
This isn’t a miracle or a “quick fix.” This is the result of consistent, often invisible effort.
What I’ve Learned from Sitting Still
Meditation taught me that I don’t have to believe every thought.
That feelings are messengers, not monsters.
That I can interrupt the spiral.
I’ve learned that:
I can clear what doesn’t serve me.
I can sit with discomfort and not be destroyed by it.
I do have the power to rewire how I respond to life.
And that, my friends, is freedom.
Now, When Life Happens…
…because it still does, I don’t spin out for days.
When something unexpected shows up, I can sit in awareness. I can choose how I show up. I have a toolkit. I have breath. I have inner spaciousness.
I no longer let my mind run the show.
I run the show with grace, with curiosity, and with so much more peace than I ever thought possible.
This is a Milestone, Not a Finish Line
I’m not here to say meditation “saved” me. I saved me.
Meditation was one of the paths. And I kept walking.
So if you're out there, wondering if it’s worth it…
If those quiet 5 or 10 minutes a day really matter…
They do.
Because you matter.
And even when it’s hard, you are worth showing up for.
