Meditation, Solved: Is It Actually Worth It?

Meditation, Solved: Is It Actually Worth It?

From SOLVED with Mark Manson by Mark Manson

March 18, 2026 · 1h 28m

About this episode

Mark Manson explores the realities of meditation, debunking myths and discussing its actual benefits.

Meditation has been sold to us as a magic pill for so long that the backlash is almost as overblown as the hype. I spent years deep in Buddhist practice, went on retreats, meditated daily — and then slowly discovered that half the gurus evangelizing it were alcoholics, abusers, or running Rolls-Royce-funded cults. Here's what the more careful research actually shows: there are three things meditation does reliably well, and they’re probably not what you've been promised. More importantly, almost everything you've been told about how to do it is wrong — starting with the idea that the goal is to quiet your mind. If your brain turns into a chaotic mess the moment you close your eyes, that's not a failure. That's the whole point. Get your free episode guide: https://solvedpodcast.com/meditation/ • Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: https://markmanson.net/breakthrough • Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get 7 days free at purpose.app/solved⁠ Check out our sponsors:• Factor: Head to…

People in this episode

Host: Mark Manson

Topics covered

  • meditation
  • self-improvement
  • Buddhism
  • mental health
  • mindfulness

Keywords

  • meditation
  • Buddhism
  • self-improvement
  • mental health
  • mindfulness
  • meditation myths
  • chaotic mind

Sponsors

Factor, Shopify, Waking Up

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Purpose

Books & works: Meditation

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