People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us an come to being happy. 
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow, The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

Our inner experience has more to do with our success than anything else.  Our ability to control our mental and emotional responses to the world around us is key and critical in managing the biz of you.  It is our ability to surf the wave of unfolding events in our lives. It is our ability to reel ourselves in when our reactions are not in tune with the reality of our situation.  It is our ability to appreciate and utilize the feedback we receive.

There are many ways to gain control of our inner experience.  Meditation is just one many have found useful.  By meditation I mean recognizing  how you think amidst of what’s happening.  This may come about by sitting quietly and observing you thoughts via guided meditation practices or simply observing and distinguishing thoughts from sensations and feelings.  The path or style of meditation is not critical.  What is critical is learning to recognize your own thoughts and feelings amidst the sea of troubles around you.   Meditation is paying attention to the present moment and observing what is sensed versus perceived and made up with our thinking and feeling.  Our lives are shaped by how we use our thoughts and feelings.  Recognizing them and given them appropriate respect while at the same time respecting external events, thoughts and feelings of others allows us to swim the turbulent seas of unfolding events.

A question to ponder:  Do you understand how your thoughts and feelings differ from what’s happening around you?