Will my meditation practice last?

A large number of people try to meditate, but few stick with the practice for a long period or even the rest of their life, so I was wondering what percentage stay with it in the long run. I wasn’t expecting precise statistics due to the scarcity and the variability in studies, how we define the "practice," and its data quality. 

This said I have researched it a bit in order to get a rough answer to my question. In reality, many begin meditation, but fewer can sustain the practice as their initial enthusiasm often wanes due to what they see as lack of time, difficulty focusing, or not seeing any immediate benefits. 

 Those who maintain a consistent practice for their entire lives only account for 1 to 5%. People who stick to it for a decade or more show a deeply ingrained habit and their percentage is still below 10% of those who initially started. Maintaining a practice for at least 5 years (my current case) shows a significant commitment and might involve around 10 to 20% of those who began. As for those dropping after a year, their percentage might be close to 50%.

When I first began meditating in 1969, I might have lasted one or two months at best. Staying with meditation for the longer term often involves having a teacher and finding meditation beneficial enough to justify pursuing it. That latter part is important and I credit it for still practicing it. 

There are other valid reasons to stay with it, like overcoming practical and mental obstacles to practice or having a higher sense of conscientiousness than most… Having friends, family, a community or participating in organized retreats will also increase adherence to meditation. If you have some experience, don’t hesitate to post a comment!