All it takes is 10 mindful minutes | Andy Puddicombe (re-release)
TED Talks Daily
TED
4.1 • 12.1K Ratings
🗓️ 8 May 2026
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes? Not texting, talking or even thinking? Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just that: Refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment. (No need for incense or sitting in uncomfortable positions.)
(This episode originally aired in 2012)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. |
| 0:09.3 | I'm your host, Elise Hu. |
| 0:11.0 | You know, the mind whizzes away, like a washing machine going round and round, lots of difficult, confusing emotions. |
| 0:17.1 | And we don't really kind of know how to deal with that. |
| 0:20.8 | And the sad fact is that we are so distracted that we're... And we don't really kind of know how to deal with that. |
| 0:27.9 | And the sad fact is that we are so distracted that we're no longer present in the world in which we live. |
| 0:31.4 | We miss out on the things that are most important to us. |
| 0:35.7 | That's Andy Puddikom, former Buddhist monk, co-founder of Headspace, |
| 0:40.1 | and one of the most listened to voices in guided meditation today. |
| 0:49.4 | We dug into our archives to reshare his talk from 2012, where he makes the case that 10 minutes a day is all it takes to refresh your mind. |
| 0:56.5 | No incense, no sitting cross-legged on the floor. Just a little time to step back from the noise. |
| 1:00.9 | We can't change every little thing that happens to us in life. |
| 1:04.6 | But we can change the way that we experience it. |
| 1:06.7 | That's the potential of meditation. |
| 1:09.6 | That's coming up right after a short break. And now our TED Talk of the Day. |
| 1:22.6 | We live in an incredibly busy world. |
| 1:26.6 | The pace of life is often frantic. Our minds are always busy, and we're always doing something. |
| 1:31.3 | So with that in mind, I'd like you just to take a moment to think, |
| 1:35.3 | when did you last take any time to do nothing? |
| 1:39.3 | Just 10 minutes. Undisturbed. |
| 1:42.3 | And when I say nothing, I do mean nothing. So that's no emailing, texting, no internet, no TV, no chatting, no eating, no reading, |
| 1:51.0 | not even sitting there reminiscing about the past or planning for the future. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from TED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of TED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.