Author: Mark Manson
Length: 224 pages
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
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Description
A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
“In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be “positive” all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.
For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. “F**k positivity,” Mark Manson says. “Let’s be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it.” In his wildly popular Internet blog, Manson doesn’t sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is–a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is his antidote to the coddling, let’s-all-feel-good mindset that has infected modern society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up.
Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited–“not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault.” Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.
There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about experience. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives.”
Janet Dore –
“Problems never stop; they merely get exchanged and/or upgraded. Happiness comes from solving problems.”
There are SO many awesome quotes in this book, it was super challenging to pick just one to highlight. I chose this one because it represents the central theme of this book.
I’ve observed a ton of entitlement in the younger generations for decades now…they want it all and they don’t want to work for it. Of course, I’m totally generalizing…but, you can’t argue that social media has warped out the expectations of the kids who grew up watching children make millions from testing toys on their YouTube Channel or adults make billions by selling a lifestyle.
After a few chapters of this book, I realized I was entitled! I’m not the kind of entitled that expects to work a little and have a lot; I’m the kind of entitled that gets miffed when life isn’t fair, when problems continually crop up, or when humans keep messing things up.
We’re all reading the same global headlines and have experienced the past two years. Our collective butts have been kicked.
Add to that my move to Panamá last year and taking on the challenge of building a retreat here, and my butt has been pretty pulverized.
So, I asked my online book groups for suggestions of books to restore my faith in humanity and life. This book came up multiple times…and, it turns out, I had it in my Kindle library so I dove in.
PERSPECTIVE CHANGED.
Mark doesn’t say anything earth shattering in the book, but what he does say he says in a way that really resonated with me at this point in my life. And, because he speaks my (foul) language, it was fun to read about heavy stuff.
The biggest lesson I am walking away with from this book is that it’s absolutely ridiculous to expect life to go smoothly. Life is really just a series of problems and the key to happiness is doing what you can to make those problems be the kind you want to solve and then solving them.
As I read the book to the sound of monkeys and vision of a lush tropical landscape, I fully realized that I DID’ THIS! I have created an authentic and incredibly beautiful life for myself and I’m literally ruining it by acting like an entitled brat.
In terms of the state of humanity, my biggest problem has been giving WAY too many fucks. It’s too heavy to take on all of the pain and struggles going on right now. This is a time of massive transition…hopefully awakening as many claim. But, as Mark Manson says…”giving too many fucks is bad for your mental health” and “…the world is totally fucked and that’s all right, because it’s always been that way, and always will be.” What a relief! 😆