I hear a lot of people dabble in meditation or self-hypnosis, and then stop.

It’s a shame though … I get it. It is not easy to keep up with that.

But I’m here to cheer you on anyway, because it’s worth it. Mental training is one of the best things you can do with your time. That’s a bold claim, I know, but I can do it because it improves everything else.

It makes you smarter, smarter, happier, and more focused.

This improves every part of your life, some more than others.

If you didn’t get anything from meditation, self-hypnosis, or any other mind-training practice, this won’t help you. This tip is for anyone who’s tried it, felt good for a while, and then stopped.

Like any skill, it is exciting at first. You learn a lot, so fast.

But it takes an effort to keep climbing that slope.

And eventually … you stagnate.

Now, I’m not going to tell you to cross that plateau. That on the other hand there are major improvements that you can not even imagine.

You already know, and knowing that didn’t help.

This is what happened to most of you:

You started without knowing anything.

Then you learn a simple technique or two, and suddenly you can do a lot.

It is exhilarating. Imagine what you can do with 50 or 100 techniques under your felt.

Except … it doesn’t work that way. More techniques do not lead to more experience.

You stop progressing so fast.

Stop feeling fresh, new and exciting.

Then you start doing the movements.

And that, right there, is the murderer. I would put money in it. You start introducing yourself to sessions with the attitude of ‘here are some techniques I should follow’, the techniques don’t work like they used to …

It is easy to get bored or discouraged.

But there is another way to go about it.

Instead of thinking of techniques as things to score, think of what techniques do.

Think about what you get from them.

Let’s say your goal is inner balance, and techniques give you that, so great. But if the techniques don’t, then you’ve wasted your time … right?

Or you can approach each session with the intention of creating an inner balance.

Techniques are irrelevant. You could follow them or not. As long as you cultivate inner balance, you are winning.

I remembered this recently after constructing an elaborate self-hypnosis sequence. Six days a week, it works wonderfully and I access fantastic internal states.

That other day, though?

It feels like you are following the movements.

So I stop, reboot, and wonder how I can get what I want. Is this technique the best way?

Or is there some other way to do it?

As you learn, you will not know many alternative techniques. But while you learn, it’s easy to keep doing it.

By the time it stabilizes in this way, it is because it tastes enough to mix it up.

So mix it up.

Following the movements will stop you.