Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day

by Jay Shetty

Purpose and meaning, not success, lead to true contentment.

Every answer provokes deeper questions.

Sometimes it helps to sit with a question in the back of your mind for a day, even a week.

We’re most satisfied when

we are in a state of progress, learning, or achievement.

No external labels or accomplishments can give me true confidence.

everything you do is your spiritual life. It is only a matter of how consciously you do these ordinary things …”

“I wish” is code for “I don’t want to do anything differently.”

indeed, any job that’s done well. The effort behind it is invisible.

If your intention is to help people, you have to embody that intention by being kind, openhearted, and innovative, by recognizing people’s strengths, supporting their weaknesses, listening, helping them grow, reading what they need from you, and noticing when it changes.

Living your intention means having it permeate your behavior.

Will the work itself bring you a sense of fulfillment even if you don’t succeed quickly—or ever?

“We do not make progress because we do not realize how much we can do. We lose interest in the work we have begun, and we want to be good without even trying.”

you’re in love with the day-to-day process, then you do it with depth, authenticity, and a desire to make an impact.

achieving your goals with intention means living up to the values that drive those goals.

Satisfaction comes from believing in the value of what you do.

The one who truly wanted to make a difference feels happy and

proud and a sense of meaning. The one who wanted to network only cares whether he met anyone useful to his career or social status. Their different intentions make no difference to the charity—the

the internal reward is completel...

life. Generous intentions radiate from people, and it’s a beautiful thing.

In fact, the challenges it brings are part of the process.

What’s worse, unwanted thoughts and feelings started drifting into my head. I worried that I wasn’t sitting properly

Meditation was only showing me ego, anger, lust, pain—things I didn’t like about myself. Was this a problem … or was it the point?

In all that stillness and quiet, it was amplifying what was already inside me. In the dark room of my mind, meditation had turned on the lights.

your breathing changes with your emotions.

Breathe in for a count of 4 through your nose in your own time at your own pace Hold for a count of 4 Exhale for a count of 4 through your mouth Do this for a total of ten breaths.

Breathe in through your nose for a count of 4

Then exhale powerfully through your nose for less than a second (You will feel a sort of engine pumping in your lungs.) Breathe in again through your nose for a count of 4 Do this for a total of ten breaths.

When your natural talents and passions (your varna) connect with what the universe needs (seva) and become your purpose, you are living in your dharma.

‘Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps, and whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.’”

studying, experimenting with knowledge, and speaking.

Dharma is using this natural inclination, the things you’re good at, your thrive mode, to serve others.

the journey is inward, bringing us ever closer to our most authentic, confident, powerful self.

Putting all of this pressure on people to achieve early is not only stressful, it can actually hinder success.

You don’t get to be a jerk just because you’re skilled.

We have to be careful not to confuse inexperience with weakness.

look for opportunities to do what you love in the life you already have.

The intention with which we approach our work has a tremendous impact on the meaning we gain from it and our personal sense of purpose.

none of us is too important to do any chore.

It’s up to you to test these varnas in the real world through exploration and experimentation.

Did I enjoy the process? Did other people enjoy the result?

Fears prevent us from trying new things.

Our egos get in the way of learning new information and opening ourselves to growth.

If you follow your bliss, he said, “doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.”

When we have the confidence to know where we thrive, we find opportunities to demonstrate that. This creates a feedback loop.

it was never her dharma to sit in a cave and meditate for the rest of her life.

In Buddhism, the lotus represents the idea that the mud and muck of life’s challenges can provide fertile ground for our development.

Dharma isn’t just passion and skills. Dharma is passion in the service of others.

Your passion is for you. Your purpose is for others.

The fact that it was hard was an important part of the journey.