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Think Like A Monk
Book Highlights
Title: Think Like A Monk
Author: Jay Shetty
Genre: Self-Help
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 291 Pages
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Think Like A Monk: Book Review
A student who converted into a Monk learned the principles of living a happy and fulfilled life and returned to society to give back and guide us on how to Think Like a Monk. Jay Shetty, a motivational speaker, gives us insights on how we can use the qualities of a monk in our modern daily lives.
The story starts with Jay’s college life when he first met a monk and decided to become one. Although in his book Jay does not ask us to take his path; instead asks us to apply those values in our technology-dependent lives. The book gives remarkable insights into understanding our true selves and distinguishing between attachment and detachment. To explain these ancient Buddhist concepts, Jay uses modern-day examples of people like Heath Ledger, which makes the book extremely exciting.
The book also contains some cliched concepts of staying away from Greed and Lust and working for Service and Compassion that make the users snag out of it a bit, but notions like how fear is a result of attachment and control make one revisit their past decisions in life.
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Juggling between a Monk’s mind, an ancient way of life, and the current chaotic world, the book sometimes feels like putting too much effort into straightforward notions of finding one’s passion.
A few other concepts that are pretty well-known are keeping negative thoughts away are given a lot of space in the book, which I feel reduced the new juice we as readers could strain from the book.
Another notable aspect of the book, Think Like A Monk is its take on managing personal relationships by giving importance to one another and meeting your loved ones before your mobile phones.
Think Like A Monk does manage to explain how we can think like a monk and live our chaotic lives and achieve personal and professional success. Overall, I can say, Think Like A Monk is full of wisdom but has enough flaws to be called one of the best.
Think Like A Monk: Book Summary
- Understanding the science behind a thought process.
- Creating the habit for finding the root cause of your problems.
- True achievement lies in the constant polishing and upgrading yourself.
Who Should Read It?
People who have less control over their thoughts should definitely pick up this book to re-calibrate how to think the most optimal way.
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Think Like A Monk: Top Quotes
- “Remember, saying whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want, is not freedom. Real freedom is not feeling the need to say these things.”
- “The more we define ourselves in relation to the people around us, the more lost we are.”
- I am not what I think I am, and I am not what you think I am. I am what I think you think I am.
Think Like A Monk Notes
1. Identity 🪞
- Understand who you are and what you want to achieve.
- Do not force yourself to follow the societal norms and expect to be rewarded.
- Can be done by working on few key elements:
- Utilizing your time and money efficiently
- Choosing the right things that you want to reflect in your life.
2. Negativity ❎
- Limit the things around you that provide negative vibes.
- Avoid negative people, they generally misuse your important time and their habits tend to brush off on you.
- This problem can be addressed by using the SPOT, STOP, SWAP method.
3. Fear 😨
- Fear is the building block towards development.
- Understanding your fear and how you can overcome it provides a good picture of what you need to improve in life.
- Get into the habit of finding the root causes of your fears and try to find a suitable solution for it.
4. Intention 🧑💼
- Answer the golden question:
- Why you want to do anything?
- What is the reason behind it?
- What are you getting in return?
5. Purpose 🤗
- Determine your passion and how you can benefit others and yourself from it.
- Find things that energises your day and make it more enjoyable.
6. Routine 🪥
- Your routine determines how you devote your time.
- It enables you to become more productive with a given set of time.
- Use your time around to fulfil your passion and improving yourself.
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7. Mind 🧠
- Having control of your mind let’s you do what you want to do.
- Mastering thoughts is important, helps you find the balance in your life.
8. Ego 🤷
- Ego is the sense of knows it all. Causes the blockage to grow and learn more.
- Build confidence, knowing that there is so much that you still don’t know but not too little that you begin to doubt yourself.
9. Gratitude ✨
- Learning to be thankful for daily things is crucial. Prevents you for not taking things in granted.
- Mindset becomes positive and you get to feel more positivity around you.
- One of the good method is to start journaling daily.
10. Relationships 💑
- Dedicate time to know people around you.
- Try to have a meaningful life and look out for people around you.
- Build trust and confidence.
11. Service 😊
- The highest form of purpose.
- Service can be of many forms. Not only monetary.
- Serve within your expertise.
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