In 2010, after years of non-stop workingwriting, recording, touring, repeatand four failed marriages, the singer-songwriter sat pondering how his happiness and health had so dramatically deteriorated. The same guy who had written "The Luckiest," which countless brides and grooms have chosen as their first dance, was now wrecked by loneliness, anxiety, and a "laundry list of injuries."

"If I didn't rethink it all, I was in danger of losing the respect of my family and friends, my health, and my mind, along with half of my earnings (again)," Folds writes toward the end of his new book, A Dream About Lightning Bugs. "I had a spiritual toothache. And if my soul and artistry suffered too much more decay, not even Dr. McLeod would be able to help me."

In this moment of crisis, Folds recognized that he could try to take all the lessons he'd learned about making music and apply them to his life, which serves as the underlying mission of his new memoir.

Folds had never struggled to be brutally honest in his lyrics, but now he would try saying those feelings out loud to a therapist. He'd pushed himself outside of his musical comfort zone by taking on a variety of genres, from pop to jazz to a classical piano concert. Now, it was time to lean into the discomfort of yoga and Pilates. And as an artist who lived a great deal of his life on the road, running from one gig to the next, Folds would challenge himself to sit still, immersing himself in Transcendental Meditation.

"In the first half of the book, at some point I mention a line from the song 'From the Pool': 'Whats been good for the music hasnt always been so good for the life,'" Folds told Men's Health on a recent phone call. "What I wanted to do over the course of the book was turn it backwards until the me thats writing the book starts to realize that, no, actually whats good for music can be good for life. "

A Dream About Lightning Bugs is as much your standard rock 'n' roll tell-all as it is a testament to the crucial role that creativity plays in your overall health. Here are three pieces of wisdom from A Dream About Lightning Bugs that you can apply to your daily life:

Stand in as many pairs of shoes as you can manage

Folds spent most of his childhood in North Carolina, and he credits going through the desegregated Winston-Salem public school system for introducing him to lots of different kinds of people. He was also raised by two loving parents who were "judgment-free" and pushed Folds to be more empathetic to those around him.

"Telling me Id done something wrong was not telling me I was a bad person," Folds said.

You find that empathy and respect for others throughout Folds' catalog, with many of his best songs like "Kate" and "Fred Jones, Pt. 2" featuring richly imagined, complex characters. In his book, Folds writes, "If you're going to be a tourist, be a respectful one. Observe, report, imagine, invent, have fun with, but never write 'down' to a character or their point of view, because everyone is the most important person in the worldat least to that one person."

Empathy and perspective are good building blocks to maintaining a sense of self, according to Folds. "Remember that the ground beneath your feet can always shift and that it should always be questioned," he writes.

Trust in "enforced boredom"

Folds was a daydreamer as a young man. This trait sometimes hurt him as a student, but it turned out to be essential to his development as an artist. Folds writes that in his twenties, he'd often pace around outside in his boxers, bowl of cereal in hand, composing in his head.

Becoming comfortable with letting his imagination wander helped Folds learn patience. It also informed how he views the creative process. "I dont think [creativity] is that mystical," Folds said. "Its just something that people do. If youre devoid of ideas or dont give yourself the space to play and createeven scenarios in your head of what youre going to do: something for your car, a piece of a song, a business idea, a poem for your wife. People who do that are healthier."

Folds recommends resisting the urge to skip steps and instead just trust the process, no matter the endeavor. "The limitations of the real world will soon impose themselves on your creation," he writes. "Even the limits of your technique will cut your imagination down to size in time. So imagine wildly first. Or at least try to do so form time to time."

Surround yourself with interesting people

Even though Folds has distinguished himself as a singular creative force, collaboration has played a major role in his artistic life. His body of work includes projects with Sara Bareilles, Regina Spektor, Ben Lee and Ben Kweller, Amanda Palmer, Kesha, the novelist Nick Hornby, and even William Shatner. "Surrounding myself with the people I find interesting, and who share the same interests, keeps my inner robot at bay," Folds writes.

Folds said that his best collaborations occurred when both parties were able to enter with a shared understanding of boundaries and roles. The key is to "know what youre okay with and what youre not okay with and just be honest about it," Folds said.

He also admitted that he's had to work over the years to give other people's ideas more time, which he struggled with when he started Ben Folds Five. "Those poor guys would say, 'We should do this, we should do that' And Id cut it off immediately," Folds said. "'Its wrong, its bad. Its a bad way to do it.' Later on when we got back together again I thought, Oh, lets give this time. Robert says lets try this. We try it the first time, its not that good. But by the second or third time, give it a shot and it ends up being good."