10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris
In 2004, Dan Harris had a panic attack while he was on Good Morning America You may recall the news about it at the time. He wrote this book after he worked through the reasons for the panic attack and had discovered meditation as a means of controlling the voice in his head and reducing stress, experiences most of us in this modern age can relate to.
Although I remember the news reports of the “meltdown”, I became aware of the book while listening to The Minimalists podcast on which Harris was a guest. The book is relatively short and easy to read or listen to. I have listened to it twice and as a result have developed my own, very simple, relationship with meditation.
I find the author’s willingness to be open and honest about his life refreshing. He created the idea of 10% happier, not claiming that he was cured or fixed by meditation, although clearly it has had a profound impact on him.
Nightline anchor Dan Harris embarks on an unexpected, hilarious, and deeply skeptical odyssey through the strange worlds of spirituality and self-help, and discovers a way to get happier that is truly achievable. He interviewed many well-known religious figures, self-help gurus, brain scientists and others who are experienced with meditation in order to come to his own understanding of meditation.
We all have a voice in our head. It’s what has fixating on the past and the future at the expense of the present. Most of us would assume we’re stuck with this voice that there’s nothing we can do to rein it in but Harris discovered meditation. After learning about research that suggests meditation can do everything from lower your blood pressure to essentially rewire your brain, Harris interviewed CEOs, scientists, and even marines who use it for increased calm, focus, and happiness.
Harris was concerned at one point that meditating would take away his drive and edge in his professional life. He learned how to become, arguably, more effective professionally using
The book was entertaining and enlightening. It also makes meditation more approachable on a daily basis. I have done some guided meditations over the years and still do them. I find it an effective way to calm myself as my mind goes crazy over some aspect of my past or future. Although I try to do some form of daily meditation (generally guided meditations or using a mantra), I have discovered doing short meditations to be a good alternative to looking at email and social media during “downtimes” when standing in line at a store or waiting for an appointment. I’ve even turned off the car radio while driving to be “in the present moment.”
Dan Harris also has a podcast called Ten Percent Happier. He interviews guests from all walks of life, and it is definitely worth checking out. I tend to jump around, depending on the interviewee, and if I can’t relate to one episode, I go to another.