First, establish a motivation to practice starting over by observing what happens when you waste time feeling discouraged, escaping, or indulging your restless mind. In the week ahead, notice how many times you get knocked off when something goes wrong at your work or in your personal relationships. Don't judge yourself for getting lost. Just be mindful that this is what is happening to you. Once you're able to acknowledge how much emotional energy and time you waste, you start to realize that the starting-over practice matters and that it is worth the effort it requires. You will have the aspiration, motivation and conviction to persevere.

Second, select a couple of aspects of your daily life that you want to change and begin to practice starting over. Practice empowers you to remember your intentions and goals, and it helps you move through negative feelings and return to the present moment. Try practicing this way for three months, while maintaining mindfulness of all the times you don't start over in the other areas of your life. You will start to notice a difference. Be prepared for disappointments and for forgetting your commitment; after all, you are teaching your mind a completely new automatic response.

Finally, let meditation be your laboratory for training your mind to think and respond in this new way. Meditation is a safe environment for developing the capacity for starting over because it involves only you; nobody knows when you're starting over. Plus, it builds your ability to stay concentrated and focused, so you are less likely to be thrown off center in daily life. Practicing starting over in meditation is very simple. No matter how many times your mind wanders, simply go back to notice your breath (or whatever you choose for your object of concentration), without making any judgments. Don't be interested in how well you're staying with your breath. Be interested in how well you start over.