The Sneaky Voice That Trips Up Mindfulness

You meant to meditate today. You really did. But then life happened. You got busy, distracted, maybe overwhelmed. And then came that little voice:

“You’re not doing this right.”

“You should be more disciplined.”

“What kind of mindful meditator skips their practice?”

Yep. Self-judgment. It’s sneaky, persistent, and probably the biggest hurdle on anyone’s mindfulness journey.

But here’s the thing: noticing that voice? That’s you being mindful.

The moment you catch yourself judging, something important is happening. You’re being aware. And as soon as awareness shows up, you’ve stepped back into presence. You’re no longer lost in the loop. You’re back.

This is the heart of the practice... simply coming back.

Over and over again.

There’s no gold star for meditating every day. You don’t lose points for missing a session. If you can pause, notice, and gently return even for a few seconds, you’re practicing.

You don’t need to carve out hours or overhaul your whole life. Just start living a little more mindfully in the small moments. Microdose it.

Look around you and notice something, anything. A pollen laden been on a sunflower, (did you notice it?). That’s it.

Because that’s all mindfulness is: awareness. Moment to moment.

When you notice you’ve wandered off, that noticing brings you home.

If you didn’t sit today, don’t beat yourself up for it, it’s okay.

If your thoughts were all over the place yesterday, also okay.

Come back again to noticing, even if for only a moment. It’s more than just a start, it’s practice.