How to beat the monkey mind

The name Jay Shetty first popped up on our Facebook timeline three years ago when a friend shared a video The short video starred a bunch of actors including Shetty dramatising a sliceoflife scene aimed at doing just one thing Teaching people to become better human beings In a matter of months Shetty who was still a fledgling life coach then had built a strong global viewership that sought his wisdom inspired by the teachings of his guru Gauranga DasShetty has come a long way since While he still shares videos for his 27 millionstrong Facebook community he also runs a popular podcast On Purpose with Jay Shetty His just released selfhelp book Think Like A Monk Thorsons HarperCollins India is already a No 1 bestseller with glowing blurbs by friends from his fraternity including Deepak Chopra and Robin Sharma None of this was planned says Shetty in an early morning telephonic chat from his Los Angeles homeWhen I started I thought I was going to do a fulltime job and make videos in the evening and on the weekends I never imagined that anyone would even watch or listen to anything I created The book became more real when I started to get messages from people who were following me saying that they wanted to hear more about my experiences and thoughts That planted the seed I was patient till I felt that I was really ready to put pen to paperLong before Shetty gained attention for his motivational videos he was just another rebellious teen Raised in north London he remembers mixing with the wrong crowd experimenting with drugs fighting and drinking too much In high school I was suspended three times he writes in the book Life he says took a turn for the better when as an 18yearold he was dragged by a friend to listen to Das on the assurance that the two would hit the bar soon after Until then I had met people who were rich famous beautiful and attractive knowledgeable and smart but I had not met anyone who was truly happy The monk exuded some joy and purpose in life and was speaking about how the goal of life was to use the talent and skills in the service of others That really struck a chord with me he recallsAfter graduating from college Shetty traded his suits for robes and left for Mumbai joining Dass efforts to transform an ashram in Wada Palghar into a highend ecofriendly spiritual retreatEvery day we would wake up at 4 am and have cold showers We slept on the floor and did everything from meditation studying taking care of animals to farming the land That experience was so different from growing up in London What it built in me was adaptability and resilience While doing philanthropic work we were also doing a lot of internal work I became more aware of my real passionIts what eventually compelled him to give up living like a monk three years later The more I began to understand myself the more I realised that I wasnt meant to be a monk I wanted to be in a world where I would have more impact My teachers felt the same says Shetty confessing that the transition wasnt an easy one It was actually a very difficult and pressurefilled moment for me because when I moved back to London I was completely surrounded by the noise again and reminded by people that I hadnt made it as a monk I heard a lot of I told you so I also had absolutely no means to take care of myself and on top of that I was not getting any jobs because surprise surprise no one wants a person with monk on his resume The book is peppered with personal experiences that shaped Shettys journey At the same time it hopes to serve as a guide to finding meaning and purpose whether in our intentions relationships or daily routine by distinguishing between the monkey mindmdasha mind that switches aimlessly from thought to thought challenge to challenge without really solving anythingmdashand the monk mind While writing this book I was thinking about all the questions I would receive on social media whether it was dealing with overthinking and procrastination or stress I turned to monk wisdom the practical habits and transformation strategies which would help people let go of their past and their pain and lead them to a life of service and joy The end goal should not be happiness The practise should be to look for meaning and purpose in our life and most of all service Thats what makes people happier Shetty has also dedicated chapters to meditation chanting and breathing techniques Think Like A Monk is heavily indexed with links and notes on writers and books which Shetty found resourceful when putting his thoughts togetherLike with all successful people Shetty has had his share of controversy with comedienne Nicole Arbour accusing him of not crediting quotable wisdom Any criticism he has received in the past has been carefully addressed One of the most beautiful principles I learnt was when I did an interview with Simon Sinek He spoke about how early in his career when he was receiving a lot praise and criticism he would spend time transforming his critics into believers He soon realised that in that time he had ended up neglecting the people who had positive beliefs about him He learnt that responding to the positivity was much more important says Shetty adding I make an attempt every day to respond to the positive comments on my page When it comes to criticism I look internally to what in that negativity acts as feedback and helps me improve myselfKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news