Try These Mindful Activities Instead of Meditation

By Boaz Mizrahi

For many, meditation is a helpful practice. It can allow participants to stay present and calm the mind. Simply taking short moments out of the day to dedicate to this activity can have a life-changing impact.

However, for some, meditation isn’t helpful and can have less-than-ideal side effects. Read ahead to explore other practices that can support your well-being and create mindfulness in your life.

What Can You Do Instead of Meditation?
Meditation simply doesn’t fit everyone’s personality. Appearing on the Aubrey Marcus podcast, writer Ryan Holiday describes finding his path to peace and clarity through a Stoic lifestyle and says he believes it is just as valid a path as many others.

“I think meditation is presented to people as this magical cure-all that first off it’s really only the Eastern traditions that talk about meditation. So the idea that that’s the only way to get to stillness is just obviously not true because clearly you know lots of different religions and schools talk about getting there and that meditation is just one way of getting there,” Holiday says. He believes that meditation is not necessarily the ideal starting point for everyone beginning a mental process and suggests that perhaps, instead, it would be better to start “by cleaning your house.”

But what other alternatives are there to meditation? Sophia Beams lists activities that have meditative qualities or similar effects but do not involve the traditional technique, according to Medium. One of them is tidying and cleaning.

The act of organizing requires us to concentrate on tasks that leave very little room for focusing on troubling thoughts. This can give the brain a rest while allowing you to practice attention through practical activities.  

Beams says another replacement for meditation is keeping a journal. Writing your thoughts down on paper “can be very helpful in organizing your thoughts and clearing your head,” she argues. “Making lists of your problems can help clear them from your mind.”

Marcus and Holiday go even further, saying that journaling is an act equivalent to the observation of thoughts practiced in certain mindfulness techniques. Referring to Anne Frank’s diary, Marcus says, “Anne Frank spoke about being the observer of her thoughts. When you write a journal, you observe your thoughts; you are the writer of your thoughts. It puts you in the same place you are supposed to be in meditation.”

It is worth emphasizing again that this is a particular type of meditation practice that suits a particular state of mind. What else can we do? Beams mentions listening to music. But not casually. She explains that gaining mental benefits from listening requires setting aside dedicated time exclusively for this activity, and nothing else.

Just as we watch a movie without doing anything else at the same time, the same applies to music. “When you listen to music, it can help calm the narrative in your head, because you can listen actively instead of thinking,” she says. Perhaps nostalgic songs wouldn’t be the first choice here. You can try instrumental melodies or even new songs that will occupy your mind as it works to decipher the sounds.

The Mission: Find Our Own Personal Meditative Equivalent
Beams mentions several other activities, such as yoga, going for a drive, and more. The effectiveness of an activity relies heavily on the individual. Some people won’t connect with exercise, journaling, or cleaning either, but cooking may sharpen their thinking, and a conversation with a friend may calm them.

All of this emphasizes that there is a wider range of options than formal seated meditation, and that if it doesn’t work for you, you don’t have to do it. The range of activities, habits, and techniques that can provide meditation-like benefits, or benefits close enough to them, depends entirely on how open we are to experimenting.

If you have yet to find something that can make you forget the world for a moment and refresh your energy and focus, this can serve as motivation to try new things. Eventually, you’ll stumble upon it, and when that happens — you’ll know it’s the one. 

The Essence of Life magazine provides knowledge and practical tools for a more conscious and meaningful life. The nonprofit organization behind the magazine, Essence of Life, was founded by businesswoman, philanthropist, and Goodnet founder Shari Arison. Part of the Arison Group, the organization works to raise awareness and foster inner peace.