What is Monk Mode?
The phrase monk can stir up a whole bunch of strange images to the imagination.
One minute, you see a bald man.
The next minute, you see a bald man wearing orange robes.
And the minute after, you see a bald man wearing orange robes in a mountain.
That’s a simplistic view of a monk.
A highly simplistic view that has been dumbed down.
This post isn’t to talk about monks.
It’s to talk about ‘monk mode.’
A phrase that has lit up during the past couple of years in the self-improvement space.
What is it?
And why do people do it?
I’ve seen monk mode create winners.
I’ve seen monk mode create a lot of lost causes.
This mode has a fine line.
And it’s easy to cross the boundaries when left unchecked.
Summing Up Monk Mode in 1 line
‘Can you distill this philosophy down to 1 line?’
Sure can.
Monk mode is taking a temporary break from society to work on a worthy goal/s.
Every word has been chosen very carefully.
But a few words are more important than others.
One of the important words is temporary.
Temporary implies that there should be a rough deadline for this mode.
Monk mode without a deadline creates a loner.
Also, during this state, the individuals should be working on a worthy goal or goals.
Just sitting at home watching tv and eating Ho-Hos won’t do the trick buddy.
This allows the monk mode to have some structure.
But still, the definition is highly subjective.
What is temporary for one person may seem like an eternity for another.
And what is a worthy goal for one person may seem foolish for another.
Monk mode requires the participant to engage their subjective experience.
My 1st Encounter with Monk Mode
My first encounter with monk mode happened by accident.
This was a couple of years back when I was trying to get shredded.
So I decided to do this 90-day workout program.
I thought it would just be some basic working out and that was it.
But I was completely wrong.
In order to get shredded, my whole life had to flip upside down.
It was time to get proper sleep, meal prep, eat at the right times, avoid junk food, avoid alcohol, rinse and repeat.
Soon enough, my disciplined days had me spending more time by myself.
And monk mode was activated.
As the 90 days were up, I proudly looked at the mirror.
The abs were there.
And now it was time to go to the birthday dinner I was invited to for the night.
Strange.
‘What?’
I felt more resistance at the birthday dinner.
Something about the conversations felt more forced on my end.
Although the fitness levels improved, the social skills suffered.
Didn’t suffer too much.
But it was enough for me to notice.
How to do Monk Mode Correctly
That was my first ever experience with monk mode.
A break from society to work on a worthy goal.
I learned that in order to do this mode correctly, there needs to be some nuance.
It’s all about seasoning the meat, rather than sticking it in the back of the cold side of the fridge.
‘Huh??’
Let me clarify what that means.
When I got so focused on my fitness goals, I put social skills completely in the backside of the fridge.
I was adamant about not doing anything social-related.
Because around that time, I had a lot of friends who would eat junk and drink a lot.
I came to realize after my monk mode that it would have been smarter to keep the social skills available.
And sprinkle it in every now and then.
Not enough to make me distracted.
But just enough so my skills didn’t suffer.
It’s important to make the goal the highest priority during monk mode.
Don’t get that part twisted.
But if you see a certain facet of your life is crumbling too much, where it’s negating the value from the initial goal…
Then you may want to sprinkle the seasoning in rather than putting the item in the fridge.
Read between the analogy.
How Long Does Monk Mode Last?
It’s difficult to give a set deadline for monk mode.
Because goals are different
And lives are different.
For me, it was easy to know my deadline.
Mainly because my 90-day program indicated it.
But the real world doesn’t always give the exact date.
Let’s say you are starting a business.
This is a state of iterative changes.
Who knows when you will be profitable?
Setting a 3-month deadline may sound great on paper.
But it may be longer due to the nature of the complex system.
A simple baseline does help.
‘I will go back to being more social and engaged in society once I hit 10,000$ of passive income a month. Till then, I need to dial it back.’
The baseline goal may change.
But it does indicate to the mind that a deadline is lurking in the corner.
Monk mode without a semblance of a deadline creates a loner.
Not making fun of loner’s.
Just know what you can potentially get yourself into.
Leverage Monk Mode, Don’t Be Leveraged by It
It’s easy to confuse the tools as the goal when the fundamentals are missed.
You ever see a person who is controlled by their phone?
Dummy.
You’re supposed to use the phone.
The phone isn’t supposed to use you.
That’s because this person entered the digital landscape without a semblance of a worthy goal.
They aren’t building anything.
A business.
Memories.
Nothing.
So they just spin in circles wasting time.
The tool has now become the master.
It’s time to end monk mode if the tool is becoming the master.
If your productivity is turning into spinning in circles.
The definition of monk mode is:
Taking a temporary break from society to work on a worthy goal/s.
And 3 words are the most important.
- Temporary
- Worthy
- Goals
If any of them are missed, then the fundamentals have been missed.
And it’s easy for the tool to become the master.
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– ArmaniTalks 
