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The Monkey Theory: Conquer Your Mental Chatter

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Are people destined for greatness? What sets the achievers apart from the rest? What is at the heart of success?

The Monkey Theory answers these persistent questions with a deceptively simple answer: the mind, our greatest asset. But not every mind finds itself equal to the task of fulfilling its potential. It flutters from one thing to another, one task to another, one goal to another … like a monkey. To achieve focus, determination and discipline, an individual needs to control the many monkeys who dominate, attack and hijack logical thinking.

Sfurti Sahare, one of India’s leading motivational speakers, spells it out: understand your mind to control it. Make it work for you. In these pages is a guide to imbibing good habits, breaking down one’s ego, living a stable life, letting go of the unessential and uniting your energies.

A book of hard-won wisdom, astute tips and practical techniques, The Monkey Theory is a first and concrete step towards becoming a top performer and an achiever.

111 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

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497 people want to read

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Sfurti Sahare

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5 stars
249 (36%)
4 stars
228 (33%)
3 stars
126 (18%)
2 stars
56 (8%)
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15 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
Profile Image for Fiza Pathan.
Author 41 books348 followers
May 6, 2025
This was a really cool book that really made me take a long look at myself and the way I tend to have this constant ‘fear monkey’ in me all the time, that dictates terms to me about the things I should be wary of, and those which I shouldn’t. But then I realized that in a way, I’ve got a whole load of other monkeys driving me berserk, especially when I’m at my hectic best, and that I really need to tame the wilder ones to get closer to the goals I wish to achieve in life, especially this year 2025.

I thank motivational speaker and life-coach Sfurti Sahare for penning this book and gifting me a simple way of looking into the depths of who I am, and what I can be if I can get more positive aspects of my personality into my everyday waking life. I especially tend to demotivate myself by saying that I am not as smart as most other people, especially because I don’t understand Math quite well. However, that recently changed ever since I took my very first IQ test two weeks ago and landed up with an IQ score of 133!

In all my 36 years of life, I’ve always considered myself as the plodder even though post-school I was always the topper in my class, and I guess that shows how a highly corrosive form of negative childhood conditioning can do to a person. The seeds or rather weeds of the idea that I was a plodder and not a scholar was brainwashed regularly into me at my school, and I only started to get over that detrimental and toxic negative conditioning once I stepped out of that school and into undergraduate college and onwards. Still, that thought was always there that I was a slow student because of one simple reason; I was slow with Maths. This was despite the fact that post-school I ranked either 1st, 2nd or 3rd in college and even though I was a stellar student and achiever post my sorrowful school-going days.

I’ve won 75 and more international awards, especially from the USA for my books over the past 12 years of my being a writer and yet, after doing so much and achieving so much before the age of 30 – I till two weeks ago would have hypothesized that my IQ would have been below average, maybe below 60 or something. Why? Because in school I was poor in Math. When I got my very first IQ test done after 36 years of my life and it was 133, I wanted to cry! If I had only known this, I would have gone to learn computer programming or computer software engineering like I always wanted to, instead of studying all that History and English Literature!

But anyway, better late than never! At least now thanks to my high IQ score and the simple philosophy of Sfurti Sahare’s book, I’ll make up for lost time. And I’ve got to, pronto! I’ve identified most of my major wild monkeys and I think you should too, especially if you feel that you can be better at what you are doing currently. Grab your copy of Sfurti Sahare’s book and delve into the world of Purple Islands and wild monkeys, eagles that give wisdom, and M.S. Dhoni of the Indian Cricket Team making a cameo appearance. Learn to tame your wild monkeys and nurture your human monkey, using simple to understand techniques that beat all the motivational books in your local library. Basically, do yourself a favour and get this book and make Sfurti Sahare rich!

The reading of her book came at a time when I got my first IQ score which taught me a lifetime lesson in the art of procrastination regarding ‘giving yourself some due words of praise’. I’ve never going to be so hard on myself as I was for three crucial decades of my life. My wild monkeys are not going to be painting the town red anymore for me, in fact, I’m on a roll for some more purple colour in my life. To know more, read Sfurti Sahare’s book titled ‘The Monkey Theory: Conquer Your Mental Chatter’ and start talking about the things that matter to yourself for once in your life!

You’ll thank me after you are done with the book.

‘The Monkey Theory: Conquer Your Mental Chatter’ obviously gets 5 stars from me on Goodreads. Now to blog more about it on my many websites; I’ve got work to do!
Profile Image for Reading_ Tamishly.
5,300 reviews3,441 followers
February 28, 2021
I read this book at the right time when my mind was in utter chaos.

Yes, I do think that we cannot enjoy a book in a state like that but I really needed something to talk sense to me and understand the state I was in better. And I kept searching for a non-fictional read from my tbr pile and the book told me to open it up.

And quite sure, it did help me in understanding what I was going through having my mind not at peace most times because I am the type of person who cannot stay quite even for a moment, plans the whole routine out for the next several days to come without knowing it, gets overwhelmed too soon when the outcome doesn't seem satisfactory and so on. This is a vicious cycle that has been going on like forever ever since I have started working.

Books like this help in knowing the things which distract our minds; the people who waste our time, the things that exhaust our energy and how to deal with them in our own simple ways.

The content divides this so called monkeys causing the mental chatter into 4 basic types: the drunk monkey, the fear monkey, the human monkey and the lazy monkey. They cover those who live randomly without a goal, those who live in constant terror, those who live in tension and those who live with procastinating things.

I appreciate that these types are quite relatable as they are being explained with examples and references.

I like the simple, fun writing. However, things seem a bit too repetitive here and there throughout the book with the writing trying to explain too much at times. Some examples seem downright irrelevant and unsuitable. I do feel that the book could have been much shorter, explained things in a better way. But yes, the summary towards the end sums up the content well.
Profile Image for Vinoth Kumar Kannan.
66 reviews6 followers
December 28, 2020
A very quick read - skimmed a lot, of course. The description of a couple monkeys made sense, but the rest not so much; descriptions of the imaginative lands/places were pretty average at best; and the final purple land or whatever was total total bullshit (deep breath & oxygen - seriously?!!). Again, of all the possible solutions given to handle monkeys, may be one or two looks okay, but the rest again beating around the bush.
I've already encountered this monkey analogy long long back - https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-pr... . This one article is so much superior than this whole book - better explained and something which totally makes sense.
This book - a pretty quick read; a couple takeaways here and there, but really don't expect much.
Profile Image for Vikas Bhat.
1 review
January 29, 2021
Introspection is the key!

This book, the idea behind it actually helps one in introspecting their thoughts which they know are there but couldn't see them on how these emotions are controlling there day today life and affecting them.
Profile Image for Dhairya.
11 reviews1 follower
July 22, 2022
A great book that I have read , it tells a great way to overcome procrastination , bad emotions and fear.
I never knew that fear was getting in the way of my growth but after reading this book I understood that it was getting in the way and how to overcome it. It is a very small books with great exercises and could easily be read in a single sitting. After reading this book I wanted to read the previous book by the author on M.S.Dhoni , this book was written in a beautiful way.
****** The best point of the book according to me is in which the author tells us to talk to ourselves and overcome fear , I think it is such a simple and effective way to overcome fear.******
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Karan Jaidka.
27 reviews
September 24, 2019
Decent short read, covers some important aspects of the type of monkeys (mind chatters) and basic ways of how to try and keep them in check. I somehow expected something more after reading the book, hence the one star less. But otherwise, everyone interested in trying to understand how to keep those voices in your head in check should give this a read.
Profile Image for Sahil Gupta.
35 reviews
November 22, 2019
This is so relatable. A beautiful and easy way to understand different type of brain thoughts and how to handle them at different times in our favour. Specially liked the end table and the phrase “Any day can be last”
Profile Image for Sunit Giri.
5 reviews
August 12, 2020
A nice, short and introspective read.

A good book for a person of today's age. This will surely help a person improve their way of living. One thing i am wondering about is why the author has chosen to depict all the monkeys as males??
Profile Image for Karthik D.R.
149 reviews12 followers
March 20, 2020
Things mentioned here are not new.. But I haven't come across such book documenting "Monkey Theory" in such an interesting nutshell way!


My mind has lots of monkeys.. in fact, more than what mentioned in this book. The good part is that I have a more "sensible" monkey (Big brother of 'the Human Monkey' :)) which knows how to step out from the on-going thoughts and watch it from a different angle. This book actually threw light on many dark areas which hid many different types of monkeys in my mind..

I really liked the author's way of presentation (including those orange, grey monkey doodles) & tables. Sometimes I got the feeling that I'm reading a "psychology" academic book, but she handled that very well by giving more "relatable" day-to-day examples.

Few of the lines which I highlighted while reading are:

what your mind tells you in your free time, defines you..

there is a difference between us and our thoughts. Seriously, you are not your thoughts. You are more, much, much more..

The P-Monkey cannot deal with two kinds of people. Those who are disciplined and those with a vision

Fear disappears when we confront it and ask tough questions.. When you are afraid, your confidence, creativity and courage get hijacked.. The Fear Monkey is afraid of quick actions. He can’t think that fast.

your mental space has to be utilised for preparing not for panicking.

Controlling oneself in a situation is not something everyone can manage.

Our first reactions are usually the Drunk Monkey’s responses.

Sadness is too high a price to pay for anything in life.

..poor relationships, which is a permanent invitation to sadness.

Expect less and execute more

It’s not the crown which is changing you. It’s the attitude that it engenders in you.

‘All animals stay here. It’s humans who find it difficult to stay here. Maybe because they don’t follow the rules.’

learn to be at peace inspite of tough situations..

if the Purple Island is the very place, the very moment that I live in, then why don’t I live in it every day?’ The Eagle of Wisdom smiled. ‘Because your Wild Monkeys also have a life! They also want to live! And they don’t want to die like that!’

The fact that you realised that they are monkeys and not you means half the battle is won..

A massive ego is a big roadblock in enjoying the small things that life has to offer..

Is this the way champions are made?


Ps: Haven't read Author's previous book. Added that to my "to-read" list now!
Profile Image for Amruta.
93 reviews2 followers
May 20, 2020
I picked up this book because i am big fan of Tim urban's Procrastinator theory and keep on listening to his TED talk. Now i dont know whose theory is it originally but this book feels like a extrapolation of exact theory in different way. Liked the fact that the auther gave some practical advise along with a fatastical ideas about working of your mind. It starts with categorizing your mental chatter into different monkey familieswhere prominent are Human monkey ( the sane one who wants to move ahead in life ), Procrastinator monkey ( who loves tomorrows and all fun stuff and whats to do it right now ), Drunk monkey ( they are nothing but your whims and fancy who vhanges color like a chameleon ) and lastly Fear monkey ( who keep on pulling Human monkey for good all the time ). It is a nice blend of various self help books like 7 habits, how to win friends and influence people. The concept is not new but definitely the packaging is attractive.
Profile Image for Soumyadeep Maity.
23 reviews1 follower
March 23, 2024
Book was short and nice...This book will help everyone to beat their procrastination monkey, fear monkey and drunk money with them..One can definitely try this book..Now a days, we are struggling heavily with these three monkeys. She had some simple tips and some easy theory to understand ourselves...Everyone can try this book only 111 pages with some space for journal-ing also..
There is a correction at page 62..tied up confidence money is repeated it should be courage monkey..
Only this for my 4star is that somehow i felt author is just promoting her first book "think likeDhoni" just by comparing any situation and dhoni dealt with that she is just promoting her book..Authors should never do that..If that is awesome readers would definitely read and there are many content creators for promotion.
Profile Image for Jyoti Ranjan.
80 reviews2 followers
June 10, 2022
Fantastic book by Sfurti Sahare, she is known for her book 'Think and Win Like Dhoni' which is also a great book (though I have not read it, have only read the reviews).

Key takeaways from the book - The Monkey Theory

The human mind is filled with monkeys flinging themselves from tree branches, jumping around, and chattering nonstop. Our minds always remain in constant motion.

The mind is full of thoughts like dozens of monkeys, all clamoring for attention.

Some monkeys induce fear, some of them are stress-causing and some of them are really naughty. Some of them are well-behaved too. They are categorized into four types -

P-Monkey - Procrastinator Monkey | F-Monkey - Fear Monkey

D-Monkey - Drunken Monkey | H-Monkey - Human Monkey

The human monkey is actually YOU. The monkey wants all the good things for self, family, and society. It is your better judgment, which can analyze things and can think straight.

It is you performing to the best of your abilities.

The guiding statement of this monkey is, ‘Let’s get to the TOP!’

The human mind is full of monkeys. They are the reason for your sudden mood swings.

> The Fear Monkey constantly reminds you of all the things that could go wrong.

> The Drunk Monkey exhibits unpredictable behavior.

> The Procrastinator Monkey aka Lazy Monkey tells you why it is not a good idea to do this job right now.

> The Human Monkey attempts to move ahead in spite of distractions from the other monkeys.

Read the book to understand more about the monkey and find the ways to be on Purple Island, island where Human Monkey is most productive and can easily defeat any monkey.
22 reviews
May 24, 2020
Lovely way of portraying the mental chatter

It is simple and humble representation of how to conquer the mental chatter and get on with daily life activities. I discussed about the P-monkey and all the rest with my wife and she was amazed on the depiction .Now whenever we procrastinate for a family task we say the p-monkey is active,lets beat it down. Very well written, simple,workable tricks .I would suggest everyone to read this.
Profile Image for Amar.
71 reviews
March 6, 2020
Ideas

The solutions in this book proposed by the author for the day to day life problems (called as monkey's in the book) are the same which you will find in most of the Self Help videos on youtube. There is nothing mind blowing but the way in which it is conveyed can make an affect on the reader and he may start to apply these solutions in real life which is all that matters.
19 reviews1 follower
April 3, 2020
Need a memory monkey :)

I liked the analogy and it does convey the message. It's a simple read and the reader will enjoy it but at times the metaphors get too much which makes it open to a reader's interpretation rather than the actual message. Guess the author should also add another monkey in the next edition - memory monkey to remember all other monkeys! :)
2 reviews
August 13, 2020
Awesome book to improve ourself

This book helps me to understand about my past - mistakes, achievements, and the situations where I can do better.

I would like to use these methodologies in my life which I learnt and understand in this book to shape my career, personality and be a good human.

Thanks a ton to the author.
4 reviews
July 27, 2022
I had never know this book exists..
But after a couple of research on Internet and how this book ..
At First I thought Usual stuff ..
and after getting involved into the concept written on book .
Iam Thrilled and that exactly my feelings which were written in book


Finally .. this Book need to reach much more heights
And everyone must read this book once in a life time
Profile Image for Arunoday Vyas.
13 reviews1 follower
December 22, 2024
Not a big fan of non-fictional books, but I'll still recommend this book highly.

Although it will definitely triggers your daily life routine, how we all ignore the difficult task and once we ignore them and shelf them they never ever completed from our side.

This type of books helps you to know the things which are distracting you from your daily life or long life goal.

I like the simple, easy and fun writing which will definitely help you in understanding what authors want to convey to her readers.

Book will definitely help you to introspect yourself and couple of monkeys will hit you harder as it will definitely connect with your habits.

It's a Petit livre that can be easily completed in one or two days.
Profile Image for V Abhishek.
45 reviews
March 23, 2020
What book it is, every single word in this book taught me so many things. My journey with this book is awesome. I become the fan of this author with her debut book THINK AND WIN LIKE DHONI and she reached the set target with this book too.

Even this book color has a story, and this book is all about learning, fighting, monitoring of monkey in the brain. Author stated that reason for every problem is caused by a monkey like P-monkey, angry monkey, fear monkey, drunken monkey and at last human monkey, and she also stated the things we had to follow to come out and control the monkey.

The best part of this book is the concept every monkey is explained with taking the preset scenario examples, I assure everyone will connect to them like me. In so many situations, we felt depressed, stressed and so on but in this book we find the reasons for it and of course solutions too.

The entire book is about mental chatter and developing a good mental health. She delivered her content with simple words but with a deep meaning. I loved and learned so many things from every single chapter. THE PURPLE ISLAND is my favorite chapter from this book.

The line to which I connected most in this book is "Any day can be the last day"

Through her debut book, she taught the meaning of hope and with this book she taught how to develop and achieve the good mental health.
Profile Image for Daisy.
55 reviews28 followers
September 10, 2020
Found the tone of book childish, so I couldn't enjoy the book as much as I had expected to. Most of the time i skimmed through the content rather taking actual notes of how to take control of which monkey jumping in my mind.
3 reviews
October 28, 2020
Nice read!!!

Good book to learn how to control the thoughts which are continuously jumbling in one's head. Very good analogy of thoughts with monkey to control them. Mus read for today's youngsters.
Profile Image for Patricia Ressler.
10 reviews9 followers
Want to read
August 11, 2024
Qur’an: Chapter 41, Verse 26—
Those who disbelieve will say: “Do not listen to this Reading and chatter away while it is being recited, so you will drown it out.” … We will reward them for the worst which they have done.
1 review
February 22, 2020
Good & a Motivating read

Liked the way author articulated different behaviours of human monkey mind and how one can control it and be in their peaceful purple island :)
Profile Image for Shihab Perumpulliyil.
67 reviews11 followers
March 29, 2020
A great Read,

a helpful book to identify our inner problems in our mind and to curb the inner chat.
Profile Image for Rohit Kumar Gautam.
11 reviews
April 26, 2020
Its one of those books I wanted right now for some reality checks. I have been so unproductive, this book came at the right time.
8 reviews
July 16, 2020
"Amateur" narration. Strictly for kids(though the cited examples are from the other side)
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