If you are just getting into a meditation practice, this one of things that is often touted about why you should be doing a meditation practice is that you are going to be a far more happier person than a person who doesn’t engage in the practice of meditation. I think that meditiation will not change your thoughts, it may make you less reactive to the bad things that happen out there in the world around you. Happiness is such a suggestive thing to start with. I am sure that if you were to survey seasoned meditators we would get a variety of responses. One thing we should be aware of is the placebo effect which could be at play. People who meditate everyday or frequently at least may subconsicously think that meditating makes you more at ease with the things around you. We may howeveer, see similar results of the general population, but my point is that it always suggestive. You will have your own reasons for wanting to meditate.
The best thing that you can do with regards to meditation is to not expect too much from a daily meditation habit. Just instead be pleasantly supprised about how things start to change in your life. One thing with meditation is that we are just begining to study meditation in any sort of serious way so who knows what we are going to find out about this one simple habit.
You may not feel very happy the first time you meditate.
You may be looking forward to start meditating as soon as you can. Your thoughts will be man this was suppose to bring some peace but by sitting down and meditating I am for some reason feeling less peace than before. But just hang in there these are just the uppers and downers.
In short after much rambling, I would say just beware of people telling you about the benefits of meditation, when the evidence is coming from their own personal story, we don’t really have the clinical trials to say for sure. The best I can say is just see if you like it or not. Don’t be afraid of failure!