Episode

#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
Description
Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More | Brought to you by Eight Sleep's Pod Pro Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating, Athletic Greens all-in-one supplement, and Theragun percussive muscle therapy devices. After ABC News anchor Dan Harris (@danbharris) had a nationally televised panic attack on Good Morning America in 2004, he knew he had to make some changes. He found himself on a bizarre adventure to rein in the voice in his head that provoked his on-air freak-out and found a solution in meditation. A lifelong nonbeliever, meditation was something Dan always assumed to be either impossible or useless.In 2014, Dan published the book 10% Happier, which takes readers on a ride from the outer reaches of neuroscience to the inner sanctum of network news to the bizarre fringes of America’s spiritual scene and leaves them with a takeaway that could actually change their lives. In 2017, Dan followed up with Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-To Book.In 2016, Dan launched the 10% Happier company with co-founders Ben Rubin, CEO, and Derek Haswell, VP Product. The company was rebranded to Ten Percent Happier in 2019.Please enjoy!This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually Athletic Greens, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system. Right now, Athletic Greens is offering you their Vitamin D Liquid Formula free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit AthleticGreens.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive the free Vitamin D Liquid Formula with your first subscription purchase! That’s up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive all-in-one daily greens product.*This episode is also brought to you by Eight Sleep! Eight Sleep’s Pod Pro Cover is the easiest and fastest way to sleep at the perfect temperature. It pairs dynamic cooling and heating with biometric tracking to offer the most advanced (and user-friendly) solution on the market. Simply add the Pod Pro Cover to your current mattress and start sleeping as cool as 55°F or as hot as 110°F. It also splits your bed in half, so your partner can choose a totally different temperature.And now, my dear listeners—that’s you—can get $250 off the Pod Pro Cover. Simply go to EightSleep.com/Tim or use code TIM. *This episode is also brought to you by Theragun! Theragun is my go-to solution for recovery and restoration. It’s a famous, handheld percussive therapy device that releases your deepest muscle tension. I own two Theraguns, and my girlfriend and I use them every day after workouts and before bed. The all-new Gen 4 Theragun is easy to use and has a proprietary brushless motor that’s surprisingly quiet—about as quiet as an electric toothbrush.Go to Theragun.com/Tim right now and get your Gen 4 Theragun today, starting at only $199.***If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapters
8Sleep mattress topper is a crowd favorite tool to enhance sleep as it helps to reduce sleep interruption and falls asleep faster.
00:00 - 03:26 (03:26)
Summary
8Sleep mattress topper is a crowd favorite tool to enhance sleep as it helps to reduce sleep interruption and falls asleep faster. It also aids in easing back pain and promotes better recovery.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Athletic Greens is offering a free vitamin D supplement and five free travel packs with your first subscription purchase to promote additional immune support, gut health, and energy.
03:26 - 09:40 (06:13)
Summary
Athletic Greens is offering a free vitamin D supplement and five free travel packs with your first subscription purchase to promote additional immune support, gut health, and energy.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The motto "if the price of security is insecurity" doesn't hold up in the long run; we must balance stressing, plotting, and planning with mindfulness and know when we cross the line of constructive anguish into useless rumination.
09:40 - 17:31 (07:51)
Summary
The motto "if the price of security is insecurity" doesn't hold up in the long run; we must balance stressing, plotting, and planning with mindfulness and know when we cross the line of constructive anguish into useless rumination. It's essential to live with a certain level of anxiety, but worrying too far leads to ultimately diminishing returns.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The worlds of Jewish culture and meditation often intersect, with Jewish meditation teachers like Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, and Sylvia Borstein blending Buddhist principles into their teachings.
17:31 - 24:17 (06:45)
Summary
The worlds of Jewish culture and meditation often intersect, with Jewish meditation teachers like Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, and Sylvia Borstein blending Buddhist principles into their teachings.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The Jew blues is a term used to describe a desire for answers to anxiety.
24:17 - 32:24 (08:07)
Summary
The Jew blues is a term used to describe a desire for answers to anxiety. The remarkable group of young Jewish people, mostly from New York and some of them from Boston, who went over to India or Asia and learned how to meditate and came back and really became these.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker describes their intermittent and short-lived drug use, clarifying that it was not akin to the experiences portrayed in popular books and movies.
32:24 - 40:29 (08:04)
Summary
The speaker describes their intermittent and short-lived drug use, clarifying that it was not akin to the experiences portrayed in popular books and movies.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The podcast discusses speaking in tongues and charismatic Christianity as a form of divine language, and delves into an interview with a believer who talks about a self-help book by Eckhart Tolle.
40:29 - 48:32 (08:03)
Summary
The podcast discusses speaking in tongues and charismatic Christianity as a form of divine language, and delves into an interview with a believer who talks about a self-help book by Eckhart Tolle.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
In this podcast episode, the host discusses the power of mindfulness and the influence of Sam Harris and his wife Annika Harris.
48:32 - 53:35 (05:03)
Summary
In this podcast episode, the host discusses the power of mindfulness and the influence of Sam Harris and his wife Annika Harris. He also shares his personal rule for practicing mindfulness and the occasional obstacles he faces in maintaining it.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
A MIT whiz kid discovered that meditation could be taught in secular contexts such as healthcare after a Buddhist meditation retreat.
53:35 - 1:01:27 (07:51)
Summary
A MIT whiz kid discovered that meditation could be taught in secular contexts such as healthcare after a Buddhist meditation retreat. Though the speaker finds tremendous benefit in meditation when done consistently, one's inner voice could cause one to quit if they missed a day.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker explains the benefits of practicing mindfulness meditation, including self-awareness and the ability to step back and view the contents of consciousness without judgment.
1:01:27 - 1:08:15 (06:48)
Summary
The speaker explains the benefits of practicing mindfulness meditation, including self-awareness and the ability to step back and view the contents of consciousness without judgment.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Meditation has helped the speaker bring a warmer, friendlier, and more loving sense to viewing their ego and its machinations.
1:08:15 - 1:14:40 (06:24)
Summary
Meditation has helped the speaker bring a warmer, friendlier, and more loving sense to viewing their ego and its machinations. This has decreased the speaker's tendency towards anger and has shifted their perspective on spiritual quests from a violent slaying of the dragon to a more compassionate approach.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
In this episode, the host discusses his tendency to emotionally withdraw during social engagements and how it has impacted his life and relationships, including his role in leading an organization.
1:14:40 - 1:20:06 (05:26)
Summary
In this episode, the host discusses his tendency to emotionally withdraw during social engagements and how it has impacted his life and relationships, including his role in leading an organization.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The pandemic of loneliness has led to various negative consequences such as depression, anxiety, and drug abuse, among others.
1:20:06 - 1:25:20 (05:14)
Summary
The pandemic of loneliness has led to various negative consequences such as depression, anxiety, and drug abuse, among others. The lack of prioritization of social connection is caused by many contributing factors such as the myth of individualism and social media, among others.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The author discusses how he struggled with the idea of writing a book on meditation and feared that he wouldn't be able to succeed in a saturated market, but he continued writing anyway because it was his passion.
1:25:20 - 1:31:11 (05:50)
Summary
The author discusses how he struggled with the idea of writing a book on meditation and feared that he wouldn't be able to succeed in a saturated market, but he continued writing anyway because it was his passion.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The guest talks about the importance of exploring and adapting adaptive patterns, behavioral patterns and storylines that we adopt in childhood for a better self-care experience and better relationships.
1:31:11 - 1:43:38 (12:27)
Summary
The guest talks about the importance of exploring and adapting adaptive patterns, behavioral patterns and storylines that we adopt in childhood for a better self-care experience and better relationships.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
This podcast episode discusses the idea of deeper self-exploration and the benefits that it can bring to various aspects of one's existence.
1:43:38 - 1:52:17 (08:39)
Summary
This podcast episode discusses the idea of deeper self-exploration and the benefits that it can bring to various aspects of one's existence. It also touches on the concept of reducing anger and embracing natural occurrences without self-judgment.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker discusses the utility of 360 reviews in corporate culture and how it can be implemented to evaluate a person's performance in a company.
1:52:17 - 1:56:18 (04:00)
Summary
The speaker discusses the utility of 360 reviews in corporate culture and how it can be implemented to evaluate a person's performance in a company. The speaker mentions how he or she is writing a book on this topic.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The author recommends several meditation books with the exception of one non-meditative page-turner of a book about trees that has strong Dharma overtones.
1:56:18 - 2:02:11 (05:53)
Summary
The author recommends several meditation books with the exception of one non-meditative page-turner of a book about trees that has strong Dharma overtones.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The mind is trainable and we can change through various modalities including meditation, therapy, psychedelics, walks in nature, and working on relationships.
2:02:11 - 2:06:47 (04:35)
Summary
The mind is trainable and we can change through various modalities including meditation, therapy, psychedelics, walks in nature, and working on relationships.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
In this transcript, the speaker talks about his "Five Bullet Friday" email newsletter where he shares interesting things he has found throughout the week.
2:06:47 - 2:10:50 (04:03)
Summary
In this transcript, the speaker talks about his "Five Bullet Friday" email newsletter where he shares interesting things he has found throughout the week. Additionally, he gives a positive review of the Theragun, a percussive therapy device that helps with muscle pain and tension.
Episode#481: Dan Harris on Becoming 10% Happier, Hugging Inner Dragons, Self-Help for Skeptics, Training the Mind, and Much More
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
A review of the 8Sleep Mattress discussing how it helps users fall asleep faster and get more restful sleep due to its temperature control feature.
2:10:51 - 2:12:55 (02:04)
Summary
A review of the 8Sleep Mattress discussing how it helps users fall asleep faster and get more restful sleep due to its temperature control feature.