Key Messages
Unmasking the Power of Meditation: How Ancient Practices can Help You Overcome Selfishness and Emotional Overwhelm
The 10% Happier Book Summary covers the importance of learning to manage your ego so that you can better manage your life.
It discusses how meditation can help you achieve this goal, and how recent scientific studies have linked mindfulness and meditation to having long-term positive effects on one’s mental and physical health.
The author also shares his own personal experiences, demonstrating how the practice of meditation can help you to conquer your ego and ultimately better manage your emotions.
He explains why it’s not necessarily a bad thing to be a little selfish, as well why it’s important to know when you’re just randomly gazing into the fridge without being hungry.
Finally, he suggests that mastering mindfulness through meditation might even save some individuals from suffering a heart attack.
By following these step-by-step instructions provided in the book summary, readers will gain insight into why it is so important to learn how to effectively manage their egos in order to cultivate a happier, more fulfilling life.
Understanding Your Ego: Taking Steps to Reel in the Voice in Your Head
The voice inside your head, or the ego, is often what influences how we make decisions.
It’s the inner narrator that guides us through life and tells us what to do.
Freud viewed it as a psychological mechanism that mediates between our morality and our base desires; others might refer to it as one’s sense of pride, conceit or self-love.
Beyond just those basic definitions, though, the ego can be seen as a voice in your head that narrates every action you take.
It could be telling you to stay in bed instead of going to the gym when you know it would benefit your body, or compulsively checking emails without a break.
The point is, this voice is constantly there offering advice…sometimes good and sometimes not so much!
By taking steps to keep it in check, we can lead a healthier and happier life overall.
The 10% Happier book summary unpacks this concept in more detail and provides tangible strategies for controlling your ego – so if you want to become aware of your inner voices and learn how to respond positively to them, this summary can provide the insights needed for such a journey!
The Ego is Never Satisfied: How Meditation Can Help Us Overcome Restless Desires
The 10% Happier book highlights the fact that your ego is never satisfied.
No matter what you have or have accomplished, it will still find a way to push you further.
Its obsession with obtaining more will be never-ending and it can take away the joy of what you currently possess or achieve.
It’s important to acknowledge this insatiable hunger and understand that no matter how much money is stored in your bank account, or how many material possessions you have, your ego will always find a way to feed on more.
Even if it means going back in time and ruminating on what life was like before – all in an effort to attain something better here and now.
No decision can satiate the ego and keep it from wanting more.
That new sports car? It won’t be enough for long…
that delicious meal? You’ll soon want something ‘even tastier’.
The Power of Mindfulness: Becoming Empathetic and Compassionate Through Meditation
It’s easy to let our egos get out of control.
But with the help of mindfulness, we can actually temper our reactions and practice being more compassionate towards ourselves and others.
This is what 10% Happier author learned through his own experience.
Mindfulness can help us learn to respond, rather than react when faced with a difficult situation.
For instance, when a colleague told him he’d never become an anchorman, he simply asked how he could improve his work – instead of letting his ego or anger take over.
Harvard MRI studies have shown that people who practice regular mindfulness meditation actually exhibit physical changes in their brains – the parts that process self-awareness and compassion become thicker, while those associated with stress shrink.
Learning to Control Your Ego Can Lead to Greater Productivity and Creativity
When it comes to taming your ego, you don’t need to lose your edge or become a pushover.
It’s all about keeping things “simple and easy”.
As the Indian meditation teacher Munindra advised his students, you can still negotiate fiercely at the marketplace yet remain in control of your ego!
But it doesn’t stop there; apparently practicing mindfulness improves creativity and productivity as well.
During a ten-day meditation retreat, the author had his mind free of distractions and was able to fill up entire notebooks with new ideas.
It turns out that an organized and clutter-free mind is more conducive for creativity than an overwhelmed and stressed one.
The author also found that high levels of stress or the need for competition weren’t necessary to fuel his drive.
In fact, controlling these urges was much more satisfying than indulging in them.
This discovery is evidence that taming your ego doesn’t mean turning into someone else – it actually means becoming the most capable version of yourself without losing any sense of who you are.
Learn How Meditation Increases Mindfulness and Compassion
Meditation is a simple and effective way to increase mindfulness and compassion in everyday life.
By engaging in this practice, we can learn to observe the thoughts and emotions that enter our minds without judgment.
Through meditation, we develop an awareness of our own body and its responses to different situations.
We can focus on our breath and accept any itches, pain or discomfort without moving or reacting to it.
This allows us to look at all aspects of life with impartiality, including ourselves and others.
In addition, practicing intentional compassion during mediation helps enhance our relationships both within ourselves and with other people.
Studies have found that when someone amends their meditation practice to include conscious acts of kindness towards themselves and others around them, they can experience greater empathy towards themselves and their peers.
People also tend to actively avoid gossiping at work as they become more aware of how their words can affect those around them.
The Benefits of Meditation: Improving the Body, Mind and Brain for a Better Life
The health benefits of meditation have been scientifically proven, and are truly remarkable.
Not only does it have a positive impact on the mind, it can also help to reduce stress levels in the body – which as we know is linked with many illnesses and diseases.
Studies have revealed that meditation can actually reverse some of the effects of these stress chemicals by lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
It has even been found to be beneficial for major depression, addiction disorders, and even physical issues such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Furthermore, those who practice mindfulness through meditation have reported an increase in patience, empathy and compassion – which is said to spill into everyday life.
Meditation can even affect brain patterns associated with resilience, impulse control, and well-being.
It’s clear to see that taking part in regular meditation sessions is not only good for your mental health but your physical well-being as well.
Therefore making it worth adding this ancient practice into our modern lives!
Acknowledge Negative Feelings to Conquer Ego and Overcome Fear
We all have negative emotions at some point, and it’s important to acknowledge them rather than deny them.
According to Buddhist teachings, one way to manage these feelings is by practicing non-identification.
This means that you recognize that your worries or fears about a situation are not permanent and will leave eventually.
Tara Brach outlines four stages of accepting negative emotions: first, recognizing the emotion; second, allowing it to exist; third, investigating its effects on your body; and fourth, separating yourself from those feelings through non-identification.
The author learned this the hard way when he faced a panic attack on air due to his refusal to accept his past terrible memories in war zone.
He eventually used the teaching of non-identification when worrying about a promotion at work by recognizing that his nerves were just temporary and could be managed without letting them take control over his life.
Wrap Up
The 10% Happier book is an insightful exploration into the physical and mental benefits of incorporating meditation into our lives.
It teaches us how to combat stress in an increasingly hectic world through the practice of meditation, which leads to a more productive, compassionate and fulfilling lifestyle.
The takeaway from the book is clear: Metta Meditation has proven to be effective when it comes to increasing your own compassion towards others as well as for oneself.
Picture yourself clearly in your mind and repeat the following phrases: May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be safe, may you live with ease.
Then again repeat mantras imagining a benefactor, dear friend, neutral person and troubled person with whom you have difficulties.
Finally, extend it all living beings!
To gain further knowledge on how happiness can become an everyday part of our lives – “The Happiness Project” written by Gretchen Rubin is a great follow up read!
Through this project Gretchen shares what she learnt throughout her yearlong journey of discovering what happiness really is and how to get more of it in our lives – which includes why she started her collection of bluebird figurines too!
