One entry in Tim Ferriss’s book Tools of Titans covers some of Chade-Meng Tan’s ideas regarding mindfulness and meditation. Among other things, Meng talks about having a “mindfulness buddy” who can help you with your mindfulness practice. I liked that idea and decided to try it out. A friend who shares many of my interests agreed to give it a shot and we’ve kept it up for a good while now. Here are some things that have come out of this shared practice.
Although Meng recommends that mindfulness buddies ask each other a few specific questions when they check in, we’ve done it differently. Our approach has essentially been to talk about our ideas, experiences, and breakthroughs as they happen. Since we’re normally separated by a great distance, we’ve discussed most of this over the internet. We’re not always able to respond right away (especially since we’ve both started taking more time away from social media), but we come back to the conversation when we can and give a thoughtful response. This has also been a great way to keep in touch and learn more about each other, which I’ve enjoyed quite a bit.
I sometimes talk about my bigger ideas with certain people who are receptive to them but I don’t think I’ve ever had a mindfulness buddy before. Also, I’ve done most of my self-improvement work in solitude, so this has been a new adventure for me. With all this in mind, being able to talk to someone about this stuff, check in with each other to see how we’re doing, and share useful things as we find them has been amazing. One of my favorite parts of this experience has been the ability to confide in someone who’s walking a similar path and share things that other people may not understand or accept. We’ve both learned a great deal from each other through this and we also inspire and encourage each other to follow our own advice, so there’s a great deal of accountability that’s come out of simply discussing our ideas. If you’re on a self-improvement journey, I’d highly recommend finding a mindfulness buddy and discovering for yourself the joy of walking that path with someone who is on a similar journey and will help you along the way.