What do you wish you knew when you first started with meditation?

Not all mindfulness practices will resonate with you! Don't feel like you are a failure if you have difficulty with particular practices, like attending to your breath. For example, many people have difficult with breath practice if they have anxiety, trauma or breathing issues. Find practices that pique your curiosity. If you feel overwhelmed, that's a sign that practice is not helpful for you.

This is such a great question! I think the most important thing to remember when beginning to meditate is that it is normal for it to feel challenging, frustrating or like it just isn't working. We are so used to going about our days simply allowing our thoughts to run freely through our minds, it can be really difficult to relax and quiet your mind on demand. Certainly don't beat yourself up when you have "mindless thoughts," it is totally normal! When I am meditating and a thought arises I like to acknowledge it and then let it go. I even go as far as to imagine my thought floating up out of my head and away into the sky. Remember that you are doing a wonderful job and like any new practice it will take time to see improvement or results.

I concur with everything Ronaldo has said above. I myself like using a mantra. Our "monkey mind" customarily jumps from branch to branch. Giving myself a mantra to focus on is like giving that monkey mind a tough coconut or Brazil nut to work on, keeping it utterly busy as we SETTLE in meditation. Another image I like is to take a handful of dirt, put it in a jar filled with water, place the lid on and shake it up. The water's all muddy. But if you let it set, over time the gunk sinks down and the water seems to be clear. This is analagous to what happens in meditation.