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

Jay Shetty

Jay Shetty, social media superstar and host of the #1 podcast On Purpose, distills the timeless wisdom he learned as a monk into practical steps anyone can take every day to live a less anxious, more meaningful life. When you think like a monk, you’ll understand:- How to overcome negativity- How to stop overthinking- Why comparison kills love- How to use your fear- Why you can’t find happiness by looking for it- How to learn from everyone you meet- Why you are not your thoughts- How to find your purpose- Why kindness is crucial to success- And much more. Shetty grew up in a family where you could become one of three things—a doctor, a lawyer, or a failure. more

Self HelpNonfictionAudiobookPersonal DevelopmentSpiritualityPhilosophyPsychologyMemoirMental HealthHealth

328 pages, Hardcover
First published Simon & Schuster

4.22

Rating

64164

Ratings

4616

Reviews

Image
Avatar
Avatar
Avatar
230 people reading
Image

Jay Shetty

5 books 2351 followers

Jay Shetty is a storyteller, podcaster, and former monk. Shetty’s vision is to Make Wisdom Go Viral. He is on a mission to share the timeless wisdom of the world in an accessible, relevant, and practical way. Shetty has created over 400 viral videos with over 5 billion views, and hosts the #1 Health and Wellness podcast in the world, On Purpose. Learn more at JayShetty.me.

more


Community reviews

Avatar
Greta
9 reviews
0 followers
Reply

Summary (Regular Review)This book delineates the experiences that Jay Shetty learned in his three years of monk life in India. He tries to convey the wisdom gathered through the ancient scriptures and monks in a palatable practical manner. What I learned from this book 1) The monk mindset and the monkey mindset Mr. Shetty says that in order to train your mind to find peace, calm and purpose you have to have the monk mindset. He also depicts the differences between the monk mindset and the monkey mindset 2) Why most of us study better in libraries, work better in offices, and workout better in gyms. more


Avatar
Sanjana
113 reviews
38 followers
Reply

I feel this man is a biggest fraud internet has seen. more


Avatar
Catherine (alternativelytitledbooks)-very behind again!
473 reviews
894 followers
Reply

What a phoney dude and what a phoney book. A friend gifted this to me, despite knowing how not fond of self-help books I am. I couldn't finish this book so maybe I am not qualified to write a review, but whatever. His introduction starts with a quote that he cannot even place right. Funny, because he loves plagiarising and not attributing. more


Avatar
Victoria
412 reviews
378 followers
Reply

*Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Jay Shetty for an ARC of this book. Now available as of 9. 8. 20. *Jay Shetty has found great exposure through the YouTube community and came highly recommended to me from professionals in the healthcare industry, so I was intrigued to pick this book up and learn more about Shetty's philosophies. more


Avatar
Gary Beauregard Bottomley
1065 reviews
653 followers
Reply

My mind is like my internet browser…19 tabs open, 3 of them are frozen and I have no idea where the music is coming from. (A seen on Pinterest)Is it any wonder why I seek out books about serenity. Even if I can’t reach it, I’d like to carve out a meandering path to it. And when Jay Shetty leads the way, I take note. I love his easy-going style and his ability to distill spiritual concepts into ideas we can incorporate into our daily lives without having to don a saffron robe. more


Avatar
Ronak
252 reviews
135 followers
Reply

How would you respond at your Ashram when your guru tells you to write about an undeserved experience. I know when the author, Shetty, asked that question my mind immediately jumped to 20 items all of them for me were along the lines of how the universe had shed its unearned favors through time and chance upon me such as meeting my wife 40 years ago and having her fall in love with me, or how my parents were better than the parents on “Leave it to Beaver”, or being granted the unearned favor of having a twin brother and an older brother who have always had my back, or about 17 other items came in to my mind. It never even dawned on me, as it did with the author when he was at the Ashram as a novice with twenty other monks in training to think of negative experiences as he and all the other novices did. That’s the problem I had with this book. I have never thought about my negative experiences as being underserving while I did think of my undeserving experiences as blessings from the universe, and therefore there was no lesson for me. more


Avatar
Danielle
931 reviews
522 followers
Reply

https://youtu. be/ze-93apelno Think Like a MonkI just finished this book, and I have mixed feelings about it. after reading many nonfiction books, I realized most books talk about the same stuff. ( sadly that is true with this book)This book is basically summarizing jay's all youtube/Facebook videos. Its an average read. more


Avatar
Evie Braithwaite
273 reviews
310 followers
Reply

Decent book on being a decent person 👍 Reads slow, as most these books tend to… good insights on self awareness and appreciation/gratitude ☝️ . more


Avatar
Tanu
398 reviews
516 followers
Reply

“Before judging others, pause for a moment and ask: am I finding fault in order to distract myself or others from my own insecurities. Am I projecting my own weakness onto them. And even if I’m doing neither of those things, am I any better than the person I’m criticizing. I can’t say what the answers to the first two questions will be in every case, but the answer to the third question is always no. ”This is one of the most enlightening and empowering books I have ever read. more


Avatar
Lily Yunoc
11 reviews
1 followers
Reply

"Monkey mind: Overwhelmed by multiple branches. Monk mind: Focused on the root of the issue. Monkey mind: Overthinks and procrastinates. Monk mind: Analyzes and articulates. Monkey mind: Distracted by small things. more


Avatar
Smita
364 reviews
0 followers
Reply

After the Nicole Arbour exposure, I just can't with Jay Shetty. There are many other books in this genre that do a better job from people who actually walk the walk. more


Avatar
April
1267 reviews
18 followers
Reply

The best part of this book was when it ended. I'm not going to lie, by chapter 6 I just hardcore skimmed through this. I only didn't DNF it since it's a book club pick. First of all, this book is BORING. It's like a patchwork of different quotes from various sources put together but isn't very interesting to read. more


Avatar
Grant Lemanski
3 reviews
7 followers
Reply

DNF. This is not for me. I finished chapter 1 and am already overwhelmed by Shetty’s writing which feels dull and sexist (just stop buying so many shoes and spending so long getting ready, ladies. ) and classist (really think about if those daily $4 lattees are worth it. ). more


Avatar
Courtney McIlvoy
35 reviews
0 followers
Reply

Because of this book I. - have a goal to give up social media on weekdays- looked and continue to search for my life’s purpose- dug to the root of why I want material things in life just to realize that they do not matter- am getting on a weekly meditation/breathing/visualization schedule - dove into what I fear most in life and reflected on why they are scare me- spend 3 nights a week thinking/writing down everything I am thankful for- learned the difference between attraction and deep connection in relationships- am working to detach from my ego. I am not my successes or my failures- have learned life’s highest purpose (read to find out)If you want to seriously change your outlook on life, this is a must read. You have to take the exercises seriously though, this book is not meant to be read fast. Deeply contemplate your life when reading this, and you can get as much out of this book as I did. more


Avatar
Annette
831 reviews
498 followers
Reply

The book version of “that meeting could’ve been an email”. more


Avatar
☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣
2476 reviews
19112 followers
Reply

“Becoming a monk is a mindset that anyone can adopt. ” Why would anyone want to do that. To find a peaceful mind “and build lives that brim with purpose and meaning. ” You can have a usual life – getting a job, getting married, and maybe having a family. But there is something deeper. more


Avatar
B Schrodinger
224 reviews
705 followers
Reply

Wow. A new instafav. Passion + Skill = Talent (Varna)Skill + Usefullness = Occupation Usefullness + Compassion = Servise (Seva)Compassion + Passion = CharityVarna + Seva + Occupation + Charity = (. ) Passion + Expertise + Usefulness = DharmaNow that's some formulaic Buddhism. Love the 'VISUALIZATION FOR TOMORROW' routine. more


Avatar
Ink_Drinker
198 reviews
439 followers
Reply

Jay gives out some run-of-the-mill advice that could probably be found in most self-help books, while being just a little too good to be true and offering you WISDOM TM. Maybe I’m not the right audience. Maybe I’m too old. There were way too remarks about how his audience wants things like Instagram followers or being an entrepreneur. Jay, I just want to be happy in my skin. more


Avatar
Reading_ Tamishly
4773 reviews
2930 followers
Reply

Jay Shetty is the narrator of Think Like a Monk and it truly feels like we are having a conversation in my living room. Shetty shares many personal stories of his three years spent training as a monk in an ashram in India. He shares the way a monk thinks (monk mind) and the ancient techniques still used today to have a more joyful, peaceful, purposeful life. I didn't think I wouldn’t be able to do any of this in my own life because I don’t have the years of experience Shetty has, but through Shetty’s masterful story-telling, he gives you everyday examples and “try this” exercises that you can do easily with practice. As Shetty says, “You don’t have to be a monk to think like a monk. more


Avatar
Marie Stephanie
460 reviews
17 followers
Reply

Didn't work for me. I wanted to DNF the book multiple number of times. So. Yes, moving on to other books. more


Avatar
Ken
1272 reviews
1026 followers
Reply

Going against the grain here. I can’t even give this a star rating. It falls outside the border of what I am comfortable with since I didn’t read enough to be able to give an informed review, but I read enough to know that I can’t read this. The description alone “Jay Shetty, social media superstar and podcast host” haha and monk. No, just no. more


Avatar
Liviu Szoke
907 reviews
412 followers
Reply

Ironically, this was my "break book" at the halfway point (or close) through The Brothers Karamazov. I say ironically because monks figure prominently in Bros. K, so what exactly am I escaping. Apples and oranges. Russian Orthodox Church and Hindu monks. more


Avatar
Mindfully Evie
171 reviews
193 followers
Reply

Nu sunt un fan al cărților de dezvoltare personală, fie ele scrise de foști călugări sau adevărați guru, ori titani, cum se intitulează o colecție de la noi, ai acestui domeniu, însă trebuie să recunosc că volumul de față nu l-aș putea încadra la categoria pierderi de timp. E drept, înaintează foarte greu, m-a scos complet din ritmul meu și adesea mi-a venit greu să țin pasul cu toate informațiile și ideile prezentate în carte. E drept că sunt ele multe, cum e drept și că sunt de acord cu majoritatea, dacă stau să mă gândesc mai bine, dar lucrul care îi iese cel mai bine lui Jay Shetty, fost londonez cu o potențială lume la picioare plecat să facă foamea și să îndure frigul și lipsurile într-un ashram aflat la dracu-n praznic în India, fost călugăr, și actual influencer cu milioane de adepți care se simt fericiți dacă-i urmează cu sfințenie sfaturile (cu condiția să le și respecte pe termen lung) este o sistematizare a aproape tuturor lucrurilor care ne fac grea viața de zi cu zi, pe care, dacă le-am evita, iar Shetty ne oferă câteva alternative interesante, poate că n-am mai fi atât de stresați, de încruntați, de obosiți și de sictiriți de viața asta petrecută mereu pe fugă. Poate că dacă aș fi descoperit această carte acum vreo douăzeci de ani, mi-ar fi schimbat viața. Desigur, niciodată nu este prea târziu, dar cine să mai aibă acum timp să citească asemenea sfaturi, darămite să le mai și urmeze, care îl îndeamnă să se odihnească suficient, să lase telefonul deoparte când mănâncă sau petrece timpul cu familia, să fie mereu bun cu ceilalți, neașteptând nimic în schimb, să încerce să facă opere de binefacere, să nu se răzbune imediat cum prinde momentul, să nu mai fie rău, să doarmă cât trebuie, să mănânce cât trebuie, să petreacă timp de calitate cu familia, să facă zilnic exerciții de respirație și să ducă o viață sănătoasă și tot așa. more


Avatar
Kristīne
618 reviews
1 followers
Reply

So happy I listened to this as an audiobook as Jay read it SO well. Normally I prefer having self-help books as paperback so I can highlight text, but I definitely felt I got more from this book through his voice and animation otherwise I might have skimmed a lot of passages as the “I’ve read this before. ” But while a lot of the lessons were things I had heard before (especially the science and evidence of the benefits of mindfulness etc), hearing everything through him and his own voice just helped bring a different light to it. My favourite part of this book was by far the purpose and desire side of things. I really loved the exploration of the intention of things and “what I need to be” vs “what I need to do” the most. more


Avatar
Nidhi Patel
1 reviews
0 followers
Reply

Tīri sakarīga pašizaugsmes grāmata, kurā apkopotas sen, sen zināmas patiesības no dažādiem laikiem, dažādiem autoriem, kultūrām, tikai autors pievienojis tam visam savu mūka kontekstu, ierādot kā mums visiem ikdienā noderētu mūku mierīgā, nesavtīgā un pozitīvā domāšana. Taisnība jau viņam ir, ja mēs mazāk domātu par to, ko citi par mums domā, ja mēs vairāk laika veltītu sev un nodarbēm, kas mūs dara laimīgus, mēs dzīvotu labākā, veselīgākā sabiedrībā. Ļoti iesaku audiogrāmatu autora balsī, un pat mazā paātrinājumā, jo tad viņš izklausās munds, super pozitīvs, apņēmīgs, un kripata viņa entuziasma pielips arī jums. more


Avatar
Karishma Vyas
1 reviews
2 followers
Reply

Ask yourself: in what monk’s mindset is it okay to put your own face on your book. It’s like reading a Pinterest board of motivational quotes. All the “wisdom” in here is rehashed from other people’s work. I really recommend that you look elsewhere to gain insights about spirituality, mindfulness, or self-reflection. Don’t waste your time on this. more


Avatar
Lewis Franielczyk
33 reviews
2 followers
Reply

This is a fantastic book, its everything I expected and more. There are so many useful and practical take aways that you can begin to apply straight away. It is like having Jay as a personal coach. In Chapter 1 , I learned about values and Jay takes you through exercises which can help you understand and identify where these have come from, which is an important exercise. I especially love the part about knowing the difference between what we think our values are and our actions. more


Avatar
Inga Grencberga
309 reviews
421 followers
Reply

As someone who was a fan of Jay Shetty, I was really really disappointed by this book. Content aside, I was mostly disappointed by the snake oil salesman technique of writing a book just to plug your online courses at the end. Makes the book feel like one big lead to secure a sale. I picked up this book hoping to learn from a once-monk, but all I got was a sales pitch from a businessman. A shame. more


Avatar
Johanna Sawyer
3458 reviews
39 followers
Reply

[. ] Cenšamies atstāt vietu tīrāku, nekā tā bija ierodoties, cilvēkus laimīgākus, nekā pirms mēs viņus satikām, un pasauli labāku, nekā to atklājām. [. ]Šī grāmata man atkal to apliecināja - grāmatas pie mums ATNĀK ĪSTAJĀ BRĪDĪ, tad, kad mums to patiesi vajag. Jay R. more


Avatar
reviews
followers
Reply

Amazing read. Ever wonder what it’s like to think like a monk. Jay Shetty is a communicable voice of reason in an age where not much makes sense. So many people wandering the earth completely disconnected and full of selfishness with zero purpose. I enjoyed this book immensely and will probably read it a few more times. more


Want to read Review

Join Eduo For Free

Track your reading

Choose your next book based on your mood, your favorite topics or AI

What are your friends reading?

Discuss or ask about books you read

21 discussions

Join free discussions about the book. join

103 quotes

Best quotes picked from the book.

12 questions

Ask questions about the book.