Drawing on ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, Think Like a Monk reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us.
In this inspiring, empowering book, Shetty draws on his time as a monk in the Vedic tradition to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. His social media following totals over 32 million, he has produced over 400 viral videos, which have amassed more than 5 billion views, and his podcast, 'On Purpose', is consistently ranked the world's #1 health-related podcast. One of his clips was the most watched video on Facebook last year, with over 360 million views. Over the past three years, Jay Shetty has become a favourite in the hearts and minds of millions of people worldwide. Whether it’s a workout at the gym, getting your 10,000 steps, or even an impromptu dance party, it’s so important to move throughout the day.Jay Shetty, social media superstar and host of the #1 podcast 'On Purpose', distils the timeless wisdom he learned as a practising monk into practical steps anyone can take every day to live a less anxious, more meaningful life. And the fourth and final part of the acronym is the letter E, Exercise. From billionaire Ray Dalio to the late Kobe Bryant, meditation is a key habit for many of the world’s most successful people it’s a great way to bring yourself into the present moment. It’s important to find a daily activity that keeps you inspired, perhaps a walk with a podcast or reading a book you love. Next is the letter I, which is Inspiration. If you can express gratitude to just one person a day, you will see a boost in your mood, a deepening of that relationship, and more. This acronym represents a few habits that can help set our foundation for the day. Maybe it’s an idea that we just sit with for five minutes, to create a sense of stillness and calm before we take on the chaos of the day. How can we change that to be a quote that we love? Maybe it’s a song, or a paragraph from a book. For 80% of us, our phone is the first thing we look at in the morning and the last thing we look at at night. When we’re rushing, we’re not able to be our best selves being slow, on the other hand, is about starting off with stillness and silence.
“Slow down” doesn’t mean “achieve less,” or “be less ambitious.” It just means doing everything with clarity and at the right pace. The final part of purpose is compassion: How can you use your passion and strengths to make other people’s lives better? We can do incredible things when we use our passion and strengths compassionately. Albert Einstein once said, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.” So don’t forget your own unique strengths. And the mistake we often make is trying to gain the strengths of others. What is it that you love reading about, that gets you excited and enthusiastic? (If you don’t know, ask the people around you.) But passion alone isn’t enough- strengths are important, too. If you don’t know what you’re passionate about, start with what you’re curious about.
Purpose equals passion plus strengths plus compassion. “How can you use your passion and strengths to make other people’s lives better?” 3. This idea is nicely wrapped up in the 25/75 principle-25% of the time, we may be around people that drag us down, but why not spend the other 75% of our time with people who pull us up? This is an important quality of monk life, and it’s one of the reasons why monks have been shown to have the happiest brains on the planet. We all experience negativity in our lives, and while we can’t control the people around us, we can often choose who we want to be around in the first place. So to truly understand our identity, we have to reflect on our goals and ask ourselves whether what we’re chasing is really aligned with who we are, or whether it has come from some external influence. I am what I think you think I am.” In other words, we generate our lives according to what we think people think we should do. Think about what you’re pursuing in life is that what you truly want, or has that goal been impacted by society and the expectations of others? The writer Charles Horton Cooley once said, “I am not what I think I am. Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day 1.