An Update From Dan

This is the 10% Happier podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Hello, everybody. How we doing? I've got a quick solo episode for you today because I've got a a big announcement or at least big to me. As you may remember, last September, so about fifteen months ago, I announced that I was leaving the meditation app that I cofounded and launching a new substack. I really did not know what I was doing at the time, to be completely honest. I was a little bit shaken up about the parting of ways from my old app and, casting around for what to do next. My Substack really began basically as a stripped down newsletter. What was really cool and heartening was that it quickly grew into a thriving community and a pretty expansive offering featuring weekly live meditation and q and a sessions, a bustling chat, a growing library of guided meditations, access to the ad free version of this podcast, plus special meditation challenges and events. Pretty cool. However, as we grew, we were spending a lot of time listening to you, our listeners and subscribers, to learn more about what you really wanted. And what quickly became clear was that while you liked what we were doing over on Substack, what you really wanted was an app, a neat and tidy spot where you could access all the stuff we're doing. So we have now built you one. It just launched. It's called 10% with Dan Harris. For legal reasons, we can't yet call it 10% Happier, but you can expect the name to likely change in the next eighteen months or so. Anyway, this is yet another significant plot twist in my life and career. I never thought I would do another meditation app. First, because there were already so many of them out there. And second, because I was more than a little bit burned by my first experience in the app game. But what I've come to see, again, through listening to you, is that my team and I have an opportunity now to create a next generation meditation app. Most of the existing offerings out there are one way content libraries. And again, what you're telling us is that you want more than that. Yes. You want a place where you can easily access guided meditations from your favorite teachers, but you also want to engage with those teachers and engage with me and engage with one another. Just to say, this instinct toward connection is deeply wise. For millennia, meditation was practiced in community. However, in our tech drenched, hyper individualized, extremely lonely culture, meditation has too often become a solo pursuit. I suspect this is why so many people buy subscriptions to meditation apps but quickly fall off the wagon. Habit formation is much harder when you lack what the researchers call social support. So we're now aiming to change this very unhelpful dynamic because, as I often say, life is better …