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After having a rough year, entrepreneur Brenden Mulligan needed some time to process what happened and find a way to come to peace with it.
"The most important relationship of my life came to an end and dealing with the pain and grief around that consumed most of my mind for the second half of the year," Mulligan writes on his blog.
"This created great challenges for me in my career and I was less productive than I’ve been in a long time."
So he decided to go on a retreat, which prohibited the use of
Along with about 90 other people, Mulligan spent five days in almost complete silence practicing meditation and mindfulness.
"We live in a very loud world, and being able to shut up for 5 days felt like an enormous gift," he writes.
But Mulligan had the most trouble practicing mindfulness, which is about living in the present and being aware of your surroundings.
"For me, this was the war," he writes. "I’ve always had trouble concentrating and never been good at sitting still and focusing."
But he admits that it's not supposed to be easy, and wants to keep trying.
"Because the few tiny moments of freedom I had felt absolutely amazing," he writes. "Though they were practically over before they even began."
Ultimately, Mulligan says he was overwhelmed with the experience.
"I didn’t clear my mind," Mulligan writes. "I didn’t solve all my problems. I’m still in pain and I still have a lot of work to do this year. But I feel like I was given a new set of tools to grow and thrive in the life that I have."