From Panic Attack to Inner Peace
Dan Harris ’93, a newsman turned mindfulness expert, reflects on his journey
For more than two decades, millions of viewers tuned in to ABC News to watch Dan Harris ’93, a correspondent and anchor whose friendly smile and everyman persona were matched by his curiosity, intelligence, and calm, clear ability to let them know what was happening at home and abroad.
Harris reported stories as wide-ranging and tough as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in 2012, and combat in Afghanistan, Israel, Gaza, and Iraq. He traveled the world, with stops in the Amazon, the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Namibia, Madagascar, Nepal, Haiti, and many other locales where he always aimed to shine a light on the world’s most vulnerable populations.
The job was as important as it was stressful. For Harris, the pressure came to a head on the set of Good Morning America on June 7, 2004, when he had a panic attack on live television. The incident was embarrassing and disorienting for the journalist, who initially thought that his career in TV news might come to a sudden end.
It was a legitimate concern. But as another newsman, Paul Harvey, might say, there was more to the story. The tough experience became a starting point for a journey of personal discovery that led him to turn his life in a different, healthier, and more sustainable direction.
“I feel really fortunate,” he said.
From ‘the meditation guy’ to human flourishing
Harris, who shared his story with Colby students this week, turned his journalist’s curiosity into a quest to find out more about his brain and why it misfired on live television, and then about the human brain in general. He learned about the power of meditation to calm the voices that often play an outsized role in our heads: the internal narrator and critic that he describes as a “fever swamp of urges, desires, and judgments.”
In fact, he found so much inner peace through meditation that in 2014 he wrote a book, 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.
He didn’t have high expectations for a book that is both a memoir about meditation and a beginner’s guide to the ancient practice. But it took off, becoming a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. The book’s success led Harris to cofound a successful meditation app, 10% Happier, and create a podcast, 10% Happier with Dan Harris, in which he uses the skills honed over a lifetime of reporting to interview experts in meditation, mindfulness, and wellness in general.
“Meditation in some ways has just led me to move in the direction of an all-purpose investigation into human flourishing.”
Dan Harris ’93
“I think to the extent that anybody knows who I am, I have this reputation of being the meditation guy,” he said. “But over the last couple of years, I have pivoted to something I like to call ‘doing life better.’”
That’s why these days, on his podcast, there are still many episodes that focus on meditation, which Harris describes as a “foundational habit.” But there are also episodes about general brain health, how to exercise well, how to eat better, and how to sleep. He talks to experts on healthy work habits, relationships, and intrapersonal hygiene.
“Meditation in some ways has just led me to move in the direction of an all-purpose investigation into human flourishing,” he said.
Practicing what he preaches
In 2021, Harris retired from ABC News to focus on these mindfulness ventures. It’s been worthwhile, though not always easy. Earlier this fall, he announced that he and his business partners in the 10% Happier app would be parting company and moving in different directions.
Harris described the split as a “life earthquake” that has taken a major toll. “This will be proof of what an easy life I’ve had, but this business separation was probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever dealt with,” he said. “It’s still really hard.
“I had to practice what I preach about not getting stuck in anger, and learning how to communicate better, and have healthy conflicts, and having a more forgiving attitude toward myself when I screw up, because I screwed up a lot in that process,” he said. “And managing anxiety, because it brought up a lot of anxiety for me. I certainly was not flawless in the process, but you can turn anything into a good learning experience. So that’s certainly on my better days, the way I look at it.”
‘Action absorbs anxiety’
It’s also forced him to personally re-engage with the mindfulness and other healthy living practices that he talks about in his books, podcast, and social media presence.
Harris was delighted to return to Colby virtually this week for the Goldfarb Center for Public Affair’s final “In the News” conversation for the semester. Titled “Staying Grounded While the World is on Fire,” the conversation focused on managing stress, surviving relentless news cycles, and keeping your cool when everything feels out of control.
“I think there are some basic steps you can take. One is to get kind of be deliberate and intentional and mindful about your news consumption. I understand these two extremes: one is that I’m going to doom scroll all day long, and the other is that I’m going to put my head in the sand,” he said. “I actually think we should, and this is a very Buddhist phrase, find a middle path. And this is a very individual pursuit. This is where I think mindfulness can be very helpful because it gives you a kind of self-awareness.”
Something else that he thinks can be helpful when a person might be feeling helpless is taking action.
“It’s not my phrase, but I love it: action absorbs anxiety,” he said. “Getting involved can help, and it doesn’t even have to be relevant to the thing that’s stressing you out. Being useful as a volunteer at an animal shelter or soup kitchen, or simply just doing more favors for your friends and family. All of that is empowering and ennobling, and gets you out of your head.”
A cultural shift toward wellness
Something that sets Harris apart from other personalities and influencers working in the mindfulness industry is what he is not. He is not a charismatic guru convinced he knows the one true path a person must follow. He is not a carnival huckster who makes impossible promises, such as if you follow him into meditation and self-improvement you will instantly become 50, 75, or 100 percent happier.
It’s always been important to Harris to not make that kind of promise; in fact, a person on his publisher’s team tried to bargain him up to 20 percent, but he pushed back.
“Meditation isn’t a silver bullet,” he wrote in the introduction to the fifth-anniversary edition of 10% Happier. “As I type these words, I have been meditating for nine years, and I am still capable of being neurotic, ambitious, and cranky. Which is why I like my whole 10% shtick; it sets the bar pretty low. That said, I am significantly happier and nicer than I used to be. I have come to believe that the 10%, like any good investment, compounds annually.”
At heart, Harris is still a skeptic, someone who asks good-faith questions of the experts he interviews and who always wants to know the best research and science that underlies progress in mindfulness and well-being.
“We have seen this cultural shift towards wellness, and I’m glad of that. I’m glad to have played a small role in it. We have more open acceptance of mental health struggles, meditation is no longer embarrassing to do, and there’s a big focus on fitness and wellness of all varieties,” he said. “There are some catches, though. One is that you have a lot of players in the space who are not very allegiant to facts. So you get some people out there recommending things I’m not sure there’s evidence for.”
Following facts and finding evidence has been a throughline in his life. At Colby, where he majored in government and did three TV news internships that crystallized his career ambitions, he learned lessons that have stuck with him.
“Colby definitely instilled in me this idea of the potential to learn all the time and never be overconfident in your view of yourself or the world,” he said. “I think [the College] helped me in lots of ways. One is that I did a lot of writing, and learning how to make an argument and then defend it with evidence is really, really helpful. Another thing is just being in the mindset of learning. If you drop that after college, you will suffer.”
