The Best Piece Of Advice I Was Given About Meditation

When I was 18, my teacher gave me an unforgettable piece of advice.

I was just starting to become interested in meditation and had been running myself ragged trying to clear my mind. But, like most beginners, I was making mistakes: getting impatient, practising inconsistently and most importantly trying to stop all the thoughts in my head.

Until one day my teacher said to me:

“Let go of the expectation that your mind should be quiet”

That day, my whole life changed.

I realised that the mind will always wonder—that is what the mind does. Your job is not to stop your thoughts. Your task is to recognise when your mind has wandered and gently bring it back to the breath, mantra, or whatever anchor you have decided to use. Think of it like training a puppy. If the puppy runs off, you don’t yell or give up—you bring it back over and over. There’s no such thing as a “bad” meditation. Just show up, breathe, and let go of the need to get it right.