The book by Jay Shetty was given to me as a gift from a mentee. I was touched by the gift as am an avid reader of self development and spiritual books and I had not read or knew anything about this book. https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Think_Like_a_Monk/N-T7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

It was also a turning point when mentee becomes mentor, a significant moment where I felt immensely proud of the journey we had been on together and how far she had come personally. As she spoke about the book I realized that this book had had a profound impact on her, the most significant change in recent years.
Intrigued I got stuck into the book and I soon realized why it had such an impact. Jay’s journey to become a monk, is inspiring and his vulnerability about his personal challenges allows you to connect to him, as his challenges are every humans weakness, we all have them, some more controlled than others.
Some of the excerpts that resonated with me:
The more we define oursleves in relation to the people around us, the more lost we are. This is in the context of purging ourselves of envy, jealousy, greed, lust and more. This is so true. Being yourself and working on your challenges is more important than holding an opinion of others. None of us are perfect.
Transformatioal forgiveness: Revenge is the mode of ignorance. I think I practice forgiveness really well, however there is one incident related to me being made redundant due to a “mate” being given a restructured job. No matter how much I work on letting this go, I find myself repeating the story to others. Why? its not helpful and reflects poorly on me.
Job crafting, what employees do to redesign their jobs in ways that foster engagement at work, job satisfaction, resilience and thriving. Love this, as a leader I have always encouraged employees that care about sustainability or love customer facing engagements to find ways to make it part of their job. This is a must for everyone to connect to their job, company, peers and customers.
If you think you are too good for something, you succumb to the worst egotistical impulses, and you devalue anyone that does that chore. I witness this behavior in poor leaders. I roll up my sleeves at every opportunity as I feel more connected to my team and it really helps me understand the challenges they face.
To walk down the same old path and find a new stone is to open your mind. The example Jay uses to illustrate how monks are trained is well worth the read. During covid I did walking meetings everyday. Where I live we are surrounded by a very quiet international airport, industrial estates and suburbia! Never the less I walked the industrial estates and housing areas every day doing my calls. I heard others complain how boring walking around the neighbourhood is. For me it was one adventure after another, exploring areas I had never been to before, and where I had been I was on the look out for something new. Under the runway is a weir into a canal, I spotted two unusual birds, took pictures and when I got home discovered they were Spoonbills. Never ever seen this bird before. This morning I was walking back from the supermarket in the rain, when I spotted unusual mushrooms. Every day is a discovery if we open our minds.
Sustain your humility after achieving something. Remember and give thanks to the people who gave you the skills you are getting recognition for. Sharing the success with them keeps you humble. So important to share the impact others have on you. I am fortunate to have many amazing mentors.
Thanks to my amazing mentee/mentor Danielle for the gift of “Think like a monk”. It is one of my all time favorite reads and I know I will be rereading this book again and again.
Thanks to Joe Shetty for sharing your personal journey, exposing your own vulnerabilities. This is a life changing book if you practice the many lessons that are contained within the covers.