Think like a Monk by Jay Shetty – Book Review
MARCH 9, 2021
You can’t be anything you want. But you can be everything you are.
Think like a Monk by Jay Shetty
Easy, comprehensive, insightful and an effortless fascinating read. There is timeless knowledge on this book. Just as, if you wanted to know how to dominate a basketball court you would ask Michael Jordan, well if you want to train your mind to find peace, calm and purpose, you should ask a Monk.
Jay, who was a vedic Monk, incorporates ancient wisdom and the knowledge he attained at the ashram, to help the reader understand their purpose, pursue it with intention and remain aligned to it. It analyzes human emotions and behaviors such as fear, negativity, ego, relationships and redirects us to view these in totally different perspectives, look at the problems objectively and find ways to conquer them. It lays a path to overcome those obstacles that block us from our potential.
I especially loved that it aimed to help those often swarmed by the thoughts in their head like myself.
The best way to overwrite the voices in your head is to start talking to them.
When we tune out the opinions, expectations and obligations of the world around us, we begin to hear ourselves. The less time you fixate on everyone else, the more time you have to focus on yourself. The more we define ourselves in relation to the people around us, the more lost we are. The book is a great bridge between living how society pushes you to live and how you want to live. Discover your boundaries and the limitations that you set for yourself.
Our identity is wrapped in what others think of us, or more accurately what we think others think of us.
A great take away was Training the mind so you are in control of it. This includes being conscious of what absorbs your mind, practicing mindfulness, Gratitude and ways of dealing with negativity.
Approach negativity by taking a step back and removing yourself from the emotional charge of the moment. You aren’t obligated to react one way or another. How you react depends on your interpretation.
Practice detachment, accept that all things are temporary and that we cannot truly own or control anything. Only by detaching can we gain control of the mind. Detachment is not that you should own nothing, but that nothing should own you.
Be mindful. To yourself and to others. How you treat others is a reflection of how you treat yourself. So treat yourself with the same love and respect you want to show others. Reframe your thoughts. Instead of looking at what goes wrong, tell your mind where it goes right. Reframe your self criticism in terms of knowledge. Celebrate and accumulate constant small wins.
And lastly Service. Plant trees under whose shade you do not plan to sit. The book is a constant reminder that service is the direct path to a meaningful life. Selflessness heals the self.
You do not have to have to give.
I could go on and on and still merely do the book justice by only summarizing it in a few paragraphs. It is an endless journey of working on ourselves as an unending practice and the patience it requires. Learning to appreciate everything. Even the ordinary. Especially the ordinary.
This book, published less than an year ago (September 2020), has attained tremendous success worldwide becoming a Bestseller, and the author, an award winning podcaster with the award for the Best Health and Wellness Creator for the year 2018.
This book is a five star for me, a must read and I would highly recommend it to just about anyone fascinated by finding calm and peace within. You can’t be anything you want. But you can be everything you are! It definitely positively impacted my desire to one day experience the Monk life kind of living.
It is a must have. You should definitely get it!
To purchase https://www.instagram.com/p/CMH_S5FH-zC/?igshid=1r0zbchpi1vbc
