Awareness
The practice: Noting Meditation
Getting started
How to prepare:
Replace one habitual 10-minute session with this practice (social media scrolling, a podcast episode) or block 10 minutes on your calendar
Start somewhere quiet where you feel comfortable closing your eyes and sitting still. As you get more comfortable with the practice, you can do it in more places - on your commute, before meetings, whenever you need it
Have a pen and paper ready to write down anything you noticed at the end of the practice
Sit with your back supported, feet on the floor - or lie down if you prefer
All you need is stillness and a willingness to be present
How often to practice:
Daily is powerful, but even three times a week will strengthen this capacity
Try mornings if you can, before your patterns activate
What success looks like (4-6 weeks):
You catch yourself mid-reaction more often
More space between trigger and response
Better access to intuition
Less rumination
Greater presence in conversations
The Transfer Effect
The real power isn't what happens during the 10 minutes you're sitting. It's what happens the other 23 hours and 50 minutes.
Once you've trained your brain to notice patterns, you start seeing them everywhere.
In meetings, you notice:
"I'm planning my response instead of listening"
"I'm getting defensive"
"There's tension in my chest - this matters more than I'm admitting"
Making decisions, you notice:
"I'm rushing because I'm uncomfortable with uncertainty"
"My gut is saying no, but I'm talking myself into yes"
In difficult conversations, you notice:
"I'm triggered - heart rate up, jaw tight"
"I need 30 seconds to breathe before responding"
This is the competitive advantage: You see reactivity forming in real time - and you can choose differently.
It's Already There
Ten minutes a day. You're already spending them - ruminating, planning, worrying, scrolling, half-listening. The time exists.
What's missing isn't time. It's awareness. Once you're operating from consciousness, those 10 minutes become a choice, not a default.
Noting is one of the Headspace core methods, and the practice I come back to most. I've seen it work with thousands of people, from complete beginners to seasoned meditators.
The aim isn't to stop your thoughts and feelings - it's to witness them. To create just enough space between the thought or feeling and your response that you have a choice. That's where your power lives.
One thing we discovered at Headspace: it's often on the third attempt at this practice that the penny drops. The first time feels awkward. The second time you're still figuring it out. The third time? That's where we saw awareness start to land most frequently. So if it doesn't click immediately, stay with it. Give yourself at least those three rounds.
Noting Meditation
0:00/1:34
The Practice
Awareness
The practice: Noting Meditation
The Transfer Effect
Getting started
How to prepare:
Replace one habitual 10-minute session with this practice (social media scrolling, a podcast episode) or block 10 minutes on your calendar
Start somewhere quiet where you feel comfortable closing your eyes and sitting still. As you get more comfortable with the practice, you can do it in more places - on your commute, before meetings, whenever you need it
Have a pen and paper ready to write down anything you noticed at the end of the practice
Sit with your back supported, feet on the floor - or lie down if you prefer
All you need is stillness and a willingness to be present
How often to practice:
Daily is powerful, but even three times a week will strengthen this capacity
Try mornings if you can, before your patterns activate
What success looks like (4-6 weeks):
You catch yourself mid-reaction more often
More space between trigger and response
Better access to intuition
Less rumination
Greater presence in conversations
The real power isn't what happens during the 10 minutes you're sitting. It's what happens the other 23 hours and 50 minutes.
Once you've trained your brain to notice patterns, you start seeing them everywhere.
In meetings, you notice:
"I'm planning my response instead of listening"
"I'm getting defensive"
"There's tension in my chest - this matters more than I'm admitting"
Making decisions, you notice:
"I'm rushing because I'm uncomfortable with uncertainty"
"My gut is saying no, but I'm talking myself into yes"
In difficult conversations, you notice:
"I'm triggered - heart rate up, jaw tight"
"I need 30 seconds to breathe before responding"
This is the competitive advantage: You see reactivity forming in real time - and you can choose differently.
It's Already There
Ten minutes a day. You're already spending them - ruminating, planning, worrying, scrolling, half-listening. The time exists.
What's missing isn't time. It's awareness. Once you're operating from consciousness, those 10 minutes become a choice, not a default.
Noting is one of the Headspace core methods, and the practice I come back to most. I've seen it work with thousands of people, from complete beginners to seasoned meditators.
The aim isn't to stop your thoughts and feelings - it's to witness them. To create just enough space between the thought or feeling and your response that you have a choice. That's where your power lives.
One thing we discovered at Headspace: it's often on the third attempt at this practice that the penny drops. The first time feels awkward. The second time you're still figuring it out. The third time? That's where we saw awareness start to land most frequently. So if it doesn't click immediately, stay with it. Give yourself at least those three rounds.
Noting Meditation
0:00/1:34
The Practice
Awareness: Presence for Leaders
Awareness is your first competitive advantage. Here's how to build it.
I hope you enjoy the practice,
