Rep. Tim Ryan Used Mindfulness To Avoid Burning Out Before 40

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) joined HuffPost Live to discuss the moment he realized he needed to make a change before he became just another burnt-out politician.

"We had just kind of gotten out of the presidential primary in 2008 between Secretary Clinton and President Obama, and we were kind of getting ready and prepared for the fall. And I remember being home, I was just like chilling out, I had some downtime, and thought, 'Wow, I am stressed out,'" he told host Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani. "I couldn't really concentrate. I'd just been so amped up and I was just coming down from kind of the campaign of that year and realized I can't do this. I'm going to be burnt out by the time I'm 40 years old."

After becoming "mentally, physically exhausted" in 2008, Ryan asked himself a tough question: "Do I want to be a fried, burnt-out congressman by the time I'm 40 years old because I just don't know how to control my schedule?"

See the full HuffPost Live conversation with meditation buff Rep. Tim Ryan below.