"Work Like a Monk"-A new book will be published soon. (1)
What Monks Know About Burnout That Most Workplaces Don’t
My new book "Work Like a Monk − How to Connect, Lead and Grow in a Noisy World" will be released by Simon & Schuster on 11 September 2025.
- For Young Professionals -
What Monks Know About Burnout That Most Workplaces Don’t
How often do you feel overwhelmed by noise? I’m not just talking about the endless notifications on your screen. I’m talking about the other kind of noise—the relentless inner chatter of ‘I need to do more, be more, achieve more.’ In a world that prizes hustle, it’s natural to seek a way to cancel all this noise. But what if the goal isn’t to find perfect silence, but to learn to live skillfully with the sounds of a full life?
In Buddhism, there’s a surprising teaching: “No noise, no life.” It suggests that the very disturbances we try to eliminate—the unexpected challenges, the moments of friction, the messy parts of being human—are what make our lives rich, memorable, and ultimately, meaningful. The path to peace isn’t about building a fortress against life, but about finding your calm center within it.
This journey begins with listening. Not to your boss, not to your metrics, but to yourself. Beneath the job titles, the performance reviews, and the carefully curated online personas, there exists what one Zen master called a “True Person without rank.” This is your essential self, your core being, whose value is not measured by productivity or status. It is pure, authentic, and always present. As I explore in my book,
Work Like a Monk, the word ‘person’ comes from a Latin root meaning ‘to sound through.’ A person is one who bears a voice. Mindful listening, then, is the practice of quieting the external and internal noise just enough to finally hear your own true voice.
This may sound abstract, but the practice can be astonishingly simple. It doesn’t require a silent retreat or an hour of meditation. It can begin with a single, mindful act. In Japanese temples, this is called samu—mindful work. Consider the simple act of cleaning. When you tidy your desk, you are not just organizing objects; you are performing “mindful work that aligns you and your surroundings at the same time.” You are giving your full attention to the present moment, transforming a mundane chore into a ritual of clarity. By focusing on one small, tangible task, you create a space of peace, both externally and internally.
Your worth is not defined by how much you accomplish. The goal is not to become a flawless, optimized machine. It is to connect with the True Person within you, who is already whole. This is a gentler, more sustainable path to navigating the beautiful, noisy, and complex world of work.
If this approach resonates with you, I invite you to explore it further. In my new book, Work Like a Monk, I delve into how these simple, ancient practices can help you find rhythm, not just hustle, in your modern life.
