When I was very new to meditation, Ten Percent Happier by Dan Harris had just been released. (paid link) Since I had already started meditating, I didn’t need more convincing that the practice worked. At that time, I knew nobody else who meditated, so it was validating to see someone who then worked for ABC News talk about the topic so publicly.
This month, I had occasion to revisit Ten Percent Happier to lead a virtual book club for the Ohio State Bar Association. It was interesting to see that the book still held up, even though some of my reactions to it had changed over the years. In this review, I will share what the book offers to both new and experienced meditators.
A Super Brief Summary of Ten Percent Happier
So how did someone who used to be a journalist and anchor for ABC News get into mindfulness and meditation? That is exactly what Ten Percent Happier explains. Harris begins his short and accessible book by sharing his story of mental health challenges, including a panic attack on live television and drug use. As the book explains, though, it took Harris a while before he realized meditation could help with these things.
He was assigned by ABC to cover the religion and spirituality beat. This led him to meet various gurus with whom he was unimpressed. Eventually, though, he encountered meditation and that’s when things changed. The last half of the book shares Harris’s story of trying meditation, making it a part of his life, and how it radically changed his life for the better.
Why Those New to Meditation May Like Ten Percent Happier
It’s pretty obvious why people new to meditation may like Ten Percent Happier. It offers a lot of validation for people new to the practice who may, like me when I first started, not have a community to support them. Harris writes the book from the perspective of a skeptical but curious explorer.
Very much like a news documentary, it tells the story of mindfulness by identifying and explaining key concepts for the audience. It also shows what the experience of meditation, in retreat or in daily practice, is like. In this way, Ten Percent Happier can help those new to meditation vicariously experience the practice over time and envision where continued practice might lead.
Why People Experienced in Meditation May Enjoy the Book
Though Ten Percent Happier is targeted at those new to meditation, experienced mindfulness practitioners may enjoy it too. Personally, I liked revisiting the book after more than a decade because it was a nice way to reflect on my own practice.
Harris’s skepticism in the early days of practice reminded me of my own uncertainty when I first start sitting. (I hadn’t started meditating because I thought it would work; I had started because nothing else had and I was desperate to try anything.) His struggles early in practice very much reminded me of my own and helped me see how far I had come.
This was useful because, as I have written before, meditation is something that doesn’t get easy. You don’t always see benefits in practice, but instead are more likely to see them in life. Reading Ten Percent Happier again helped me reflect on those early days again and see that, in fact, an evolution had occurred.
Why Lawyers and Professionals May Enjoy Ten Percent Happier
Regardless of practice experience with meditation, lawyers and professionals may like Ten Percent Happier because it discusses professional life in-depth. The book begins with Harris striving mightily to climb the ranks at ABC News and make a name for himself, a situation with which most lawyers and professionals can easily identify.
When Harris starts meditating, though, he has to convince himself that being happier and kinder won’t hurt his career. I didn’t feel quite this level of pressure when I started meditating, perhaps because as a woman I was subject to different expectations. Even so, I recall hiding my meditation practice for years until the results for me were too profound not to share.
Lawyers and professionals will see a lot in Harris’s story to which they can relate. Finding balance and time for healthy habits is a struggle that all of us have experienced. Because the book shares Harris’s own story navigating these issues, lawyers and professionals may find ideas, inspiration, and motivation as they read.
Ten Percent Happier Does Not Include Meditation Instruction
Though the book contains explanation and illustration of some key concepts, it is not a meditation practice guidebook. Harris was not a trained teacher when he wrote Ten Percent Happier and does not present himself that way in the book.
In this way, the book does not offer instruction for practice or true teachings of Buddhist thought. It also does not offer ethical guidance for living a good life, though some of these principles are conveyed through Harris’s own story.
If you are looking for this kind of instruction, you will not find it in Ten Percent Happier. The good news, though, is that Harris has another book, Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, which offers more in terms of technical instruction. (paid link) He also has a repository of teachings and insights from world-class guests on the Ten Percent Happier podcast.
Where Some People May Struggle with Ten Percent Happier
There are many good things about Ten Percent Happier, but some people might struggle in a few areas. First, if you are a follower of certain spiritual gurus, including Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, or Tara Brach, the book may annoy you. Ever the skeptic, Harris did not hold back in his expression of doubt with respect to Chopra and Tolle.
Though he was more complimentary of Brach, his commentary on her demeanor and teaching style was hard to ignore. As I have written before, I thought Harris’s treatment of Brach was unfair, though he has since apologized. Regardless, the point here is that Ten Percent Happier will challenge you if you consider yourself the follower of a guru.
Similarly, the book may challenge you if you consider yourself a religious or spiritual person. Harris’s subsequent work suggests that his feelings on this have drastically changed. Regardless, Ten Percent Happier is written from the perspective of a skeptic.
In this way, it gives short shrift to anything spiritual or woo-woo even as it attempts to delve into ideas that emanated from Buddhism. Anyone who has a strong religious or spiritual practice may question whether Harris takes his skepticism too far, though I believe his feelings on these ideas have softened in his subsequent works.
The Bottom Line: Ten Percent Happier Is a Good Read
Ten Percent Happier by Dan Harris is a good read for those new to meditation and those with years of experience meditating. It offers unique insights about meditation and the benefits of mindfulness. It also illustrates for lawyers and professionals the challenges and benefits of incorporating mindfulness into professional life. Though Ten Percent Happier may present challenges for some, it is a good and very easy read. As I experienced, it is even good enough to revisit a second time after many years.
The links to the books mentioned in this review are affiliate links. The review is unsponsored and sincere but the links to Amazon are paid.
