How could you change your life by stepping into Monk Mode? Serious Question. Infinite possibilities, and no, you won’t have to give up all your worldly possessions in the process…although, that could be pretty freeing if you’re in a situation where that makes sense. Today, we’re looking at some of the lifestyle principles of Buddhist monks and evaluating what we can learn from them. Do you think will discover anything we can apply in our daily lives? Let’s see.

Change Your Life by Stepping Into Monk Mode

It’s common the hear people talk about going, “monk mode” at least in the circles I hang around in. So, what does it mean?

How does a Buddhist monk live? Well, their entire life is about understanding how the mind works and gaining enlightenment…and every, single, time, that sentence gets me really excited! Okay, to that end, they give up just about everything else: money, entertainment, women, and so on. They have zero distractions to keep them from their purpose. In this vein, a more relatable example that we can access as similar and sensical in the context of the modern western world might be in the idea of a serious writer. When she finds herself too distracted to work and fulfill her purpose, she might take herself to a secluded cabin in the woods with nothing other than a word processor, some food, and a bed. She intentionally unplugs and removes herself from the larger world in full-on minimalist mode. She avoids contact with most people and focuses 100% on writing.

You can do the same thing on a more or less temporary basis.

While ‘Monk Mode’ appeals to me more than you can imagine, the truth is, my current roles in life don’t allow me to unplug and trek off the grid for more than maybe a week at a time. What about you? Either way,  you can pull the elements of monk mode into your life by focusing on one aspect of your life and largely ignore the rest for a short time. Sounds simple, right? The time has come to try it out.

Choose a focus:

1. Health. Maybe you want to lose a few pounds, heal from childhood trauma, or clean up your diet.

2. Fitness. Maybe you want to focus on getting in the best shape of your life. You might want to see your abs, bench press twice your body weight, and run a 10K in under 48 minutes.

3. Finances. Most of us could use a little more money. You can choose to temporarily focus your life on maximizing your income and minimizing your expenses.

4. Spirituality. Education, meditation, and prayer might be just what you need to take your life to the next level.

5. Finding a partner. What would happen if you made finding a life partner your primary focus?

6. Writing a book. Have you always dreamed of writing? This could be your chance!

These are just a few possibilities and I encourage you to select a focus that is meaningful for you. Maybe you want to focus on the piano, perfecting your oil painting, working on your communication skills, or building an online business, I don’t know, but whatever it is, devote yourself to it. If Buddhist Monks can dedicate their entire life to understanding how the mind works and working towards gaining enlightenment, our little experiment cant possible be that hard. When we can intentionaly center our beliefs and focus on completing our tasks at hand with self-discipline and commitment, we’re not living in a way all that different from monk mode. However, all your scattered energy needs to be recalled and put back into alignment. All those distractions? They’ve got to go, at least for a little while.

What is so important to you that you’re willing to put the rest of your life on the back burner for a while?

Think about this for a second. In the west, we get so conditioned to moving fast, acting unconsciously and picking and choosing goals all willy-nilly. Stepping into Monk Mode isn’t going to work like that. Once we’ve decided our focus, we set the intention, and then get REALLY clear on our WHY. The ‘why’ is vital to understand because if it doesn’t come from a solid, heartfelt, belief and conviction driven space, we’re not going to succeed. How clear are you on your WHY?

Monk Mode Tips For this Western Landscape:

1. Eliminate as much as possible.

   What are you willing to give up? What do you need to give up in order to maximize your results? Think: can I press pause on irrelevant social interaction? Remember, you don’t have to cut yourself off completely, but it would be helpful to come as close to that as possible. Can you release your attachment to meaningless distractions? Are the TV, internet, smartphone, really helping you to hone in on your desired area of focus? Consider how you most like to waste time and ask yourself, “Can I let this go for a little while”? Anything that doesn’t contribute to progress in your area of interest is some degree of a distraction. Remember, in a perfect monk mode world, you’d do little other than eat, sleep, and improve in your area of focus, often after mindfully tending to the basic activities of daily living.

2. Define the most effective ways to spend your time. Create the space and decide how you’re going to spend it wisely. Ask your highest self, “What are the most important actions you can take? How can you best implement them into your life? What information do you need? A mentor? A new book? Ensure that you know enough to make wise choices.

3. Expect to be uncomfortable.

   And remember that it’s temporary. However, discomfort isn’t always a ‘bad’ thing. If you’re used to meeting the same set of friends for nachos and beer twice a week, it will be awkward to end that practice, but is it helping you or harming you? What’s the trade-off?  If you numb yourself with TV every evening, it will be uncomfortable to no longer have that crutch. How can your growing familiarut with boredom and frustration help you? What can it teach you? When you find yourself beginning to resist the process, imagine living like a real monk…How do you plan to prevent yourself from slipping back into doing what’s easy, in preference for doing what you have intentionally committed yourself to instead?

You know that you’re smart and capable. The biggest challenge that we call have these days is that our time and focus are too scattered. By stepping into monk mode, you can put all of your resources toward mastering one aspect of your life. We may never be able to match their resilience, patience, and fortitude, but if only for a certain period of time, we can be inspired enough by their dedication to emulate the values they represent by example. Give it try and let me know how it goes. What are you going to master?

*If you need a little meditation primer before you commit, check out these helpful ancient techniques to quiet the mind