10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works - A True Story

“A typical day is full of anxiety and boredom,” writes Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, who is “the brains behind positive psychology,” according to Seligman. He credits Csíkszentmihályi with adding the concept of “flow” to the movement’s ideas.6 “Flow experiences provide the flashes of intense living against this dull background.” “Flow” is described by C

to understand, intuitively and deeply, that what Buddhists call “conditioned formations”—i.e., stuff, ideas, people, emotions, and everything else—are incapable of providing lasting, deep happiness.

Our ability to run off into thoughts and stories that used to offer us false comfort in the form of distraction is now waning. At other times, there is peace, timelessness, and flow. It becomes obvious that we are not in control of when we feel peace and clarity, and when we feel resistance patterns and disorientation. With this recognition, a cert

As the saying goes, pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. If you can simply stay present with whatever is arising in awareness—whether it’s a first dart or a second one—without reacting further, then you will break the chain of suffering right there. Over time, through training and shaping your mind and brain, you can even change what arise