5 Minute Master

What would you say if I told you that you could have the body you’ve always wanted but you have to do what I tell you to do for 5 minutes a day? Would you be excited to try it? This was the question I posed to my husband when trying to figure out what most people are willing to do to create the change we say we want. “Nope!”, was the immediate answer. So, I sweetened the pot a little and asked “What if I told you that you could have the body you want and a million dollars?” He started to laugh and said, “5 minutes a day? EVERY day? Probably not.” WHY?!”, I asked in protest. He said “Because I don’t believe I can be a millionaire in 5 minutes a day” “Fine!”, I said, determined to get a yes out of him so I said “What if I said I can help you get the body that you want, the bank account you want and make you a better lover..” to WHICH he responded, “I’M IN!” before I could get the “5 minutes” part out of my mouth! 😛

I came up with the idea of The 5-Minute Master many years ago when I realized how much meditation had changed my life. At first, I couldn’t even hold my thoughts for 5 seconds without my mind wandering away. (The disobedient Dog for those of you who know me!) By the time I progressed to being able to concentrate for 5 minutes, I was a totally different person. I wasn’t anxious every day. worried about this and that. I could direct my mind to find answers instead of ruminating on the problem. In just 5 minutes at a time, I was BEcoming a master!

It hit me that just setting the goal, not even succeeding at it, put me “ahead” of the pack because the majority of us…don’t. Just trying made my chances of success exponentially greater! Success has been defined as “the progressive realization of a worthy ideal” (thanks for the inspiration Silly Sally <3) EVERY time to set a goal and REALIZE it, the easier it gets to master larger and larger goals. I realized that most people don’t ever “get there” because most don’t ever truly try. For me, 5 minutes a day, EVERY day, was challenging so I decided to challenge you to try it! If you set out to win every battle, the promise is there that you will win the war.

5-Minute Master

One of the first books I read on strengthening the power of the mind suggested an exercise to increase concentration that included focusing on the flame of a candle for one minute. As a starting point they suggested to have someone time you for one minute while you counted how many times your mind wandered in that minute and then you could seek to improve from there. Seemed reasonable enough. So I had my husband watch the clock and I started counting. When I couldn’t stand it any longer I finally said “Stop! I can’t stand it! It HAS to have been a minute by now!!” And he looked at me in amazement and said “It’s been 38 seconds.”

So I practiced every day. Like getting on a mental treadmill, I practiced and within a month I could hold my focus for not only one minute but I was going for two! I started to realize that I could think what I wanted to think when I wanted to think it. WOW! Revelation! And with my new-found power, my life started to change. I realized that big changes could happen with as little as one minute a day. I wondered what I could do with five!

Change can be easy and it doesn’t take alot of time. Practice anything, meditation, exercise, learning, ANYTHING for 5 minutes a day and your life will improve! It’s NOT about time, its about CHOICE!!