There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding meditation and thinking that it's not effective is one of them.  It's been proven over and over again that meditation has a real effect on your mind and body.  It has been shown that meditation works great for stress and anxiety relief but aside from that, meditation will help you get centered, calm and more alert of the world around you.

See, when you are conscious of this very moment and are not worrying about future or over-thinking about the past, your mind will automatically be more free.  In this state you'll notice being more creative and at peace with yourself.

This world is a world of rushing, needs for quick relief, magic pills and all-present stress.  All this constant bombarding on our minds builds a lot of negative energy and has a big impact on how we are living from day to day.  And the truth be told, if you are anxious and always expecting negative things to happen to you, events like that will start manifesting in your reality.  However, this is not just a result of your thinking but also of your unconscious behaviours.

When you are being negative and having this stressful life, you will start having the most subtle behaviours which will work toward more negativity in your life.  See, your predominant thoughts effect the way you feel and the way you feel effects your behaviour.  If you feel negative you can't behave as if you are joyful, can you?

This is where meditation comes in action, because when you are meditating basically what you are doing is shutting down your thinking and are only being aware of present moment.  When you are in this state of mind you will start feeling some kind of relief and the burden of negativity will be lifted from you. 

See, every time when you are present and aware of the very moment you are in it is a lot easier to be objective about the world around you.  You suddenly get a capacity to look at your problems from a distanced position without those unnecessary negative emotions.  And this is the best place to be coming from when you're solving your problems because you will be able too have a clear perspective and it will be way easier to work toward solutions instead of running away from negative emotions.

At the same time meditation is what you could call "your personal time" where you can take some special time just for you and just notice what a relief that is! You won't need to think about other people and their problems. It's just you enjoying the moment. Really, try it out, you'll see what I mean.