Andy Puddicombe

Part of The Trailblazers Series

At age 22, Andy Puddicombe packed his bags, left his home in the UK and arrived in India to start his 10-year-long training to become a Buddhist monk.

Many thought Andy was out of his mind to make such a move, but this one decision, born out of tragedies, transformed Andy into a new man, and he eventually went on to start a mindfulness company called Headspace.

In this Trailblazers story, we'll discuss how Andy landed on this decision, uncover stories from his decade-long monastic journey and take away eight timeless lessons that we can practically apply in our daily lives.

Let's start with a glimpse into:

Andy's early life

Meditation touched Andy's life from an early age.

When he was 11, he started attending meditation classes with his mum and sister. Although he wasn't specifically interested in the art, seeing his mum and sister participate in these classes motivated him to join.

Andy's first meditation session was eye-opening and touched him deeply. He hadn't ever felt the calmness and composure that meditation brought in that one session. The experience felt magical to this young Andy:

But it didn't hold for long.

While the first session was successful, the second one was less effective. He couldn't recreate the calm he felt in the earlier session.

The more he wrestled to calm his mind and make meditation effective, the more restless and frustrated he became. Calmness and composure seemed like islands far from his reach.

And it was downhill from there.

After a few classes, Andy's sister got bored with meditation and started skipping sessions. Andy's mum also dropped out because she had other commitments that required her time and attention.

Moreover, as Andy ecstatically talked about his experiences in meditation at school, it didn't go well. He quickly became the subject of fun and bullying.

He didn't abandon meditation but didn't practice or talk about it frequently, either. He dabbled occasionally.

Then, as he aged and discovered the various pleasurable attractions of life, such as sports, dating, and drinking, meditation took a back seat.

He seemed to be having the time of his life, too busy and engaged to think of anything meditation-related.

Then, everything changed.

His step-sister, Joanne, was hit by a speeding van and sadly passed away at a young age. This shook Andy as it would anyone else, and his grief only grew from there.

Andy was coping with this horrible incident in his life when he heard the news that one of his ex-girlfriends had died during a heart surgery.

Two deaths close to his heart in a short amount of time filled his heart with immense sorrow, which was worsened further by another violent incident.