The world we live in, says Shetty, “constantly pushes blatant and subliminal suggestions as to what we should want, and how we should live, and how we form our ideas of who we are.” Every movie you’ve ever watched, every book you’ve ever read, every person you follow online – they are all feeding your mind with ideas and values. Clearing it may not be pleasant, but only when that dust is gone can you see your true reflection.” It was only later that Shetty discovered this was just a practical demonstration of the words of a 16th-century Bengali Hindu saint named Chaitanya (Chai-tan-yah), who called this state of affairs ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, or, “clearance of the impure mirror of the mind.” “When you first look in the mirror, the truth of who you are and what you value is obscured. “Your identity is a mirror covered in dust,” said once Gauranga Das to Shetty. Audit your life to find out who you really are The Bhagavad Gita, an ancient 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic “Mahabharata,” says something even more profound: “It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.” Now, let us see how you can achieve this profound goal. An existential philosopher would reproach you for allowing your authentic self to be imprisoned by the gazes of others. I am what I think you think I am.” In other words, your identity is wrapped up not in what others think of you but in what you think others think of you. In fact, this is the main reason why we often feel depressed, unworthy and unhappy: rather than living up to our own values, we are trying to live up to someone else’s.Īt the beginning of the 20th century, American sociologist Charles Horton Cooley named this phenomenon the “looking-glass self.” He summarized it in the following mind-bending, but illuminating manner: “I am not what I think I am, and I am not what you think I am. Just like in the case of Day-Lewis, being somebody other than yourself for long periods of time can be exhausting. Of course, each of these different personas has its benefits, enabling us to earn money, function properly in the workplace and even maintain relationships with people we might not really like but need to interact with nevertheless. It may surprise you to hear that he was consciously doing something you are doing unconsciously this very minute – adopting an identity that probably isn’t your authentic self.Īs Shakespeare said, “all the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.” Whether we like it or not, we all have different personas – one for our parents, another one for our friends, a third one for our colleagues, and a sheer multitude of others for the online communities we belong to. “I will admit that I went mad, totally mad,” Day-Lewis said in an interview years later, stating the role was “not so good for physical or mental health,” and that it left him exhausted and lost. To prepare for the role of Bill the Butcher in Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York,” Daniel Day-Lewis – one of the world’s foremost method actors and the only triple Best Actor Oscar winner – spent a year training as a butcher, hired circus performers to teach him how to throw knives, spoke with a thick Irish accent on and off the set and even wore authentic 19th-century clothing in the winter. Get ready to learn all of these things and connect yourself with the timeless wisdom of the Vedas! You are a method actor Only then their mind will have enough room to grow a purpose and positive routines, and only then will their heart truly be able to give others gratitude and compassion. In essence, the book suggests that whoever wants to be happy, first needs to learn how to liberate themselves from the confines of their assumed identity, their negativity biases and their fears. Craving the presence of monks, he went to Mumbai, India, where he spent the following three years living a Vedic monk lifestyle at an ashram.īased on Shetty’s experiences from the ashram, his debut book, “Think Like a Monk,” shares his learnings and offers advice on improving focus and reducing stress.
One day, he decided to leave the corporate world behind him for good.
He decided to follow Das for the remainder of his lecture circuit around the United Kingdom and spent the next four summers in India training with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Shetty was hesitant at first but by the end of the night he was converted. When Jay Shetty was 18 years old, one of his friends invited him to hear an Indian monk named Gauranga Das give a talk on selflessness and living a minimalist lifestyle.
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