Tired of Struggling to Meditate? This 'Effortless' Technique Could Be Your Answer

So many people struggle to build a regular meditation practice. We know it’s good for us, we know we should – but sometimes, it just doesn’t happen.

Enter entrepreneur Mimi Bouchard , author of new book Activate Your Future Self and founder of the Activations app, whose quest for personal development led to her developing a powerful motivational tool to help you become the happiest, most successful version of yourself – all without needing to meditate.

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“I was very unhappy when I was younger,” explains Mimi, who was born in Canada but now splits her time between homes in London and the Bahamas. “I hated how I looked, I had bad self image, I didn’t like where I was heading in life, and I was desperate to change things.”

She started devouring all the personal development and self-help books she could in her bid to begin an inner transformation. “And one of the things these books told me to do was meditation. But it was always one of those things on my to do list in the morning that I never checked off, and I felt guilt and shame because I just didn't do it, and it didn't excite me.

“I also, deep down, didn't understand how it was going to help me reach these humongous goals that I had.”

This predicament led to Mimi creating her first Activation – a motivational alternative to traditional meditation.

“I decided to create an alternative for myself. I wanted something invigorating. I wanted something that made me feel that excitement that got me motivated, that got me inspired, that got me into the energy of that person I wanted to be - because at the time I was also learning a lot about visualization, psychology, reprogramming my mind, rewiring my old thoughts.

“I wanted to flood my brain with these new beliefs and force this new self-image into my brain. So naturally, I just picked up my phone and I opened the voice memo app, and I just started recording these inspirational pep talks that were rooted in visualization.

"They would have some affirmations in there I’d listen to them for a day or two before getting bored and then feeling like I needed more."

She started setting these audios to music – “It was very scrappy!” – until she had an entire library.

“I would listen to them when I was on the tube, when I was traveling from job to job, when I was cooking dinner in my 200 square foot apartment.

"Wherever I was, I would just listen to it in the background and then soon enough, my life started changing radically. It was completely aligned with the time I started activating.”

A few years later Mimi released these to the world and they were so well received that she launched her app – which has now helped thousands of people transform their lives.

“There's over 700 activations on the app designed for every moment of the day. And funnily enough, the app itself has actually helped me achieve everything that I've ever wanted as well, from a financial perspective.”

Sharing her secrets

Having moved from “depression and financial struggle to abundance and fulfilment”, Mimi - who is a former TV personality, having appeared in Made In Chelsea - has now released a new book, Activate Your Future Self: The Secret to Effortlessly Becoming the Happiest, Healthiest and Wealthiest You.

“It was a natural next step to put all of my teachings and learnings into one book,” explains Mimi. “This book is the step by step manual to help you activate that ideal version of yourself that you deep down aspire to be.

“It's how you can unlock your ultimate self, your ultimate life, becoming the happiest, healthiest, wealthiest version of you, something that we all want.

"And once you actually understand how to embody that self-image in everyday moments, everything else becomes effortless.”

The book is packed with information, practical exercises and tips to help you access the best version of yourself – your future self – and is split into three parts.

“The whole first part is about getting crystal clear on who your future self is and how it feels to be them,” says Mimi.

“And then the second part is transformative, it’s all about being your future self in everyday moments, with real-life scenarios and examples and strategies to help you do that - plus the science behind it.

"Then part three is maintaining that long term.”

How can we access our future self right now?

“One of the most simple and effective ways to immediately feel like your future self, other than listening to an activation, is wearing something and presenting yourself as your future self, even if you don't feel like it.

"If I wake up and I put on an outfit that makes me feel aligned with that future self vision, I am in a completely different energetic frequency,” says Mimi.

To step into the vision of your future self Mimi also recommends removing all the numbing activities in your life; for example, scrolling.

“It's an addiction we all have. If we can limit it to a certain amount, we're going to feel so much more clear. We're going have room to step into our future self-energy.”

For more powerful strategies, pick up a copy of the book. “This book really came from my soul and contains everything that I had learned as someone who has first-handedly changed her life - a complete 180 in every single department,” says Mimi.

“It doesn’t have to be hard. You don’t need to do it perfectly. Being your future self is an energy that you tune into, and you can tune into it right now.”

'Activate Your Future Self: The Secret to Effortlessly Becoming the Happiest, Healthiest and Wealthiest You' is on sale now, published by Hay House