The calm that turned into a product and the mind that wants to win even in silence.
Meditation was once a way to step out of the noise of the world and reconnect with the self.
But today, in a world where everything can be bought and sold, even silence has a price tag.
From mindfulness apps to luxury retreats, a new industry has emerged; one that promises peace, yet often becomes another source of anxiety.
A recent paper in the Sociology of Health and Illness, titled The Commercialization of Mindfulness: How Capitalism Turned Stillness into a Product, explores how the ancient practice of mindfulness has been reshaped by modern capitalism.
The researchers show how inner peace has become another goal to achieve, another metric to optimize, and another space for competition.
One participant in the study put it perfectly:
“When I meditate, I keep wondering if I’m doing it right. Even in silence, I want to succeed.”
The modern mind, especially in urban societies, has learned to turn every feeling into performance.
Calm is no longer a private experience; it’s a skill, a lifestyle, a marketable identity.
We no longer meditate to be, but to be better.
This is what the researchers call the performance of calmness; when people perform peace rather than experience it.
Even serenity has become part of the self-branding process.
In mindfulness classes, participants ask questions like,
“How many minutes a day do I need for growth?”
or “How do I know I’m improving?”
Questions that reveal a contradiction at the heart of modern mindfulness; the need to control and measure even surrender.
Two main forces drive this paradox:
The attention economy, which monetizes every human need,
and the chronic anxiety of insufficiency, the feeling that we’re never enough; not even at rest.
Brands and wellness influencers have learned to market calm as a lifestyle. Yet when peace becomes a goal, it ceases to be peace.
As the authors write:
“When mindfulness becomes work, the mind is no longer mindful; only busy.”
Their conclusion is quietly radical:
Stop trying to relax.
Stop measuring your calm.
Don’t aim to be more mindful; just be.
True mindfulness begins when we stop trying to achieve it.
Maybe this very moment – right now, while you read these words – is your chance to try:
Take a breath. Do nothing.
And don’t worry about doing it well.
