Read February 14, 2021 – April 10, 2021
It’s still considered reading if you listen to it, right? I usually spend my commute singing along to a dated playlist, talking to my dad, or listening to a personal (or professional) development book. I like to find joy during the madness of traffic! Jay Shetty’s videos have been floating around the Internet for some time and when I read he was coming out with a book, I knew I had to add it to my wish list. A few months went by before I decided to buy it and I landed on the audio version to enhance my car ride. Total added bonus: he is the narrator!
What is it about?
Similar to many personal development books, there is a major focus on mindset. Shetty goes into his personal experience as a monk – yes, a real monk! The level of detail he gives about practices such as meditation really help to understand the time involved in getting the hang of it. It’s called a practice for a reason… you need to keep at it. One of the cool things about listening to the audio version of this book is you get a sort of guided meditation. In the physical copy of the book you would be reading the instruction on how to do it but in the audio Shetty reads these instructions to you in a calming way. You can essentially pause and get situated to meditate right then and there (if you aren’t driving of course.. if you are, then rewind once you’re home!).
Time is spent talking about levels of trust, having value for relationships (even the ones that are over), and forgiveness – this can be a hard one for some. He brings up some great points about the usefulness of detachment and gives tips on how to start your morning off right. It’s impressive how the tools he learned as a monk translate to everyday life. He makes it clear that he isn’t saying we should all become monks. It’s about finding your passion, your purpose, and harnessing the power to fulfill it.
What does it have?
- How to: Meditation
- The Monkey Mind – what it is and how to tame it
- How to: Relationships
- The Gift of Giving
I’m always going to be ready to pick up a book on mindset or leadership – reading about the topic once doesn’t mean you have it and are good to go. Different perspectives, voices, and methods are absolutely necessary to explore – your brain is a muscle and you have to work it out to stay mentally healthy the same way you would work out your body to stay physically healthy.
Is it worth reading?
It will absolutely be everything you expect out of a personal development book about mindset. If you’re into this genre, it will reinforce things you’ve read while shining a new monk-like perspective on it.
Nicolena Reads 