Peace to you!

Each week, the Monk Mindset newsletter comes with:

Monk Mindset for Living Well

Monk Mindset 7: Discern Carefully, Commit Confidently: Decisions

Reflection on the Monk Mindset and Quote

Soon after my father passed away in 2018, I felt powerfully drawn to leave the monastery in order to apply what I’d learned to help entrepreneurs and others. However, I was also going through incredible grief and pain from the loss of someone I loved dearly. I was going through what’s called in the spiritual tradition, “desolation” – a sense of internal pain, anguish, or separation. 

St. Ignatius of Loyola, who developed several key principles for making decisions guided by the Holy Spirit, advised never making a change from a previous commitment during desolation. Although I felt deeply compelled to no longer continue in the monastery, because of this principle, I decided to be patient and remain in the monastery for another year and a half to test if this draw to leave was authentic – or just a function of my pain. 

Pain can sometimes blind us into thinking that if we make a change, we can escape the pain. This may or may not be true and it’s difficult to know in the midst of pain. Instead, trust that consolation will return once again and then you’ll be in a much better position to make a good decision.

Put It Into Practice This Week

The next time you’re faced with a big decision, if you’re going through deep pain, grief, depression, or similar, try to wait until this lifts before making a major decision.

Wishing you abundant peace this week,

John

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