It's hard to understand the impact that meditation and mindfulness/practiced awareness of your mental state can have on your life before you start doing either

It's hard to understand the impact that meditation and mindfulness/practiced awareness of your mental state can have on your life before you start doing either regularly. I saw an unbelievable increase in my focus and peace of mind after meditating for 5 minutes everyday - but it took between 2 - 3 months to get there. And I rely on being aware of how I'm feeling (and what I might be projecting) roughly 5-10 times a day. In general, however much I think I'm projecting, I'm probably doing even more than I think I am (often in subtle ways). In short, I base my understanding of others on my understanding of myself. Increasing the former has improved the latter.