If the world of meditation is new to you and seems complicated, Tibetan Buddhist monk and bestselling author Matthieu Ricard recommends a simple exercise in compassion that is also a form of mindfulness meditation.
First, sit comfortably with your eyes closed or unfocused and breathe in and exhale slowly, focusing on your breath. As thoughts race through your mind, don't actively try to ignore them, but rather let them float by, without attaching to any particular one. If you find yourself distracted, bring your focus to your breathing.
When you are sufficiently relaxed, think of someone who makes you happy. Focus on your altruistic love for them.
"We all have unconditional love for a child or someone dear," he told us in a recent episode of our podcast "Success! How I Did It."
Such moments of love usually "last 10, 15 seconds, one minute, then we'd do something else, we go to about our work. But suppose you take that as a beautiful strong warm feeling and instead of letting it disappear for 15 seconds you cultivate it for five, 10 minutes, by reviving it. Coming back if you are distracted, keeping the clarity, the vividity, the vividness of that."