The Year of the Monk

I was fortunate enough to come across the path of Dr.Jason Fox last year, an awesome speaker and all round cool dude. He has a wealth of useful advice, but one of the concepts that stuck with me the most was his “choosing one word” approach to refocusing at the turn of a new year.

In short, you choose one powerful word that guides and inspires you for the year ahead, an example Jason provided was his own “Year of the Pirate”, which was all about exploring, commercial savviness, being jolly, having a crew, and drinking rum!

I’ve spent the month of January working through a word that resonates for myself, and what I’ve come up with is the year of the Monk! So let’s unpack that, what’s this Monk business all about? For me, it’s about four broad concepts.

Acting with mindful intent

When a monk acts, it is the result of thoughtful consideration. They take time to appreciate the bigger picture, and understand the influences affecting their actions, and the potential impacts if they act.

They also hold their views of the world lightly, demonstrating an intellectual nimbleness, and a willingness to reflect and update their positions as and when required

Being disciplined & consistent

The monk is a master of doing the little things right, consistently. They appreciate the power of habits, and utilise this appreciation to grow as individuals.

Just as importantly, the monk also ‘fails gently’. They recognise and accept that they are not perfect, they understand that missteps and imperfections are the part of the journey where they get back up, dust themselves off, and move forward wiser for having fallen.

Adopting a frugal mindset

A monk understands the concept of expending the minimal amount of effort or expenditure to realise their objectives. The monk is aware of the seductions of rampant consumerism, and the ultimate hollowness excess can bring about and thus seeks to curb these desires and act/spend only where necessary. (With the odd indulgence perhaps…)

The monk seeks out enjoyment in the simpler things in life, reconnecting with nature and the wonderment that can be found within it.

Giving myself space to really “see” the world

A monk sees things in the world for what they are, not what they themselves wish them to be. They give themselves time to reflect upon the world around them, and their own actions and desires. This gives them a greater awareness of the lens which they use to filter the world around them, so they are able to think beyond the restrictions they impose.

A monk also empathises with others, and is always trying to understand other perspectives through more active listening in place of jumping to solutions and actions.

And that my friends, is the Monk, at least as I conceptualise it!

A good friend of mine, Steve Forbes queried me choosing Monk, as my word when I told him what I was thinking. He asked “You’re a pretty disciplined guy, is that really a stretch for you?” It made me wonder, did I already exhibit these behaviours? Was I being too harsh on myself? Expecting too much? Striving for the impossible.

After consideration though I’ve stuck with the word, because for me the key part is “do the little things right, consistently”. It’s true, I have strived for many of the above things over previous years, and maybe even realised aspects of them for periods of time. What I haven’t been able to do, at least to a level that has satisfied me, is piece it all together, in a consistent fashion, long enough to have realised some of those monk traits I’ve mentioned.

So this year I want the image of the monk to guide me, to inspire me to a greater consistency so I can realise these traits, traits which I believe to be the foundation in being able to go on and make even greater impacts in my life in the years ahead.

Here’s to the year of the Monk!