Daily meditation was a common theme in Tribe of Mentors. Is it a fad, or is there something to it?
Meditation may be overhyped, but there’s probably something to it. If meditation makes you feel better, do it. Meditation seems to make me feel better, but my anecdote should not be a compelling reason to you (neither should the similar anecdotes of 80% of Tim’s interviewees). Science-Based Medicine has an excellent article on the current scientific understanding of mindfulness meditation and what would need to be done to be certain of its impact. Here’s a meta-analysis of 47 studies suggesting there is a small causal relationship between meditation and reducing anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. This doesn’t mean that meditating will make you as successful as the interviewees in Tribe of Mentors. At best the data from Tribe of Mentors suggest a relationship between (likelihood of being in Tim’s book) and (likelihood of the regular meditation). It could easily be that successful people who meditate are statistically more susceptible to Tim’s charm.
