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on October 30, 2016
As someone who has given far too many f***s about far too many things their entire life, this book was exactly the wake up call I needed. Even as a child in elementary school, I would have a miniature meltdown when I got a bad grade or if a friend was mean to me that day. As an adult, I got better at hiding these emotional upheavals and intense reactions to the world around me, but they never really went away with my maturity like I had hoped. I took to heart every disheartening news article I read and every crappy thing that happened to me at work or in school. I'd let it consume me, because I was never told to live life any other way or that controlling my reactions was even remotely possible; I thought it was just a permanent part of my personality. I always knew that it was more of a vice than a virtue, but I felt like I couldn't fully control it.
Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** employs a witty use of profanity laced with satirical comedy that's bursting with philosophical wisdom. Much of Manson's inspiration originates from nihilists, Buddhists, Albert Camus, and Charles Bukowski, but he brings those philosophies into a more modern and palatable perspective. He reminds us that life is too short to react so passionately about every little thing. We have a limited emotional capacity, and we often squander it on reactions to mean-spirited people or unfortunate events, completely forgetting that, although we can't control the world around us, we can control ourselves. This book has empowered me to exercise control over my reactions.
Shortly after reading this book, my husband commented at how "zen" I've become. I'm no longer angrily venting to him about all of the various ways the world upsets me. I still allow myself to feel and talk about things that bother me (I'm not aiming to achieve nirvana as a Buddhist monk), but petty things no longer have a hold on me. I let the negativity wash over me now without letting it absorb into my soul, and my life has been much more enjoyable as a result.
I was so inspired by this book and its philosophy, that I wanted a permanent reminder for myself to further ensure that I use my f***s wisely from now onward. For my birthday, I got this simple, but meaningful tattoo on my right wrist. The ∞ symbol reminds me of the infinite nature of time and outer space, and the 0 on the bottom represents humanity's relevance to time and space as a whole. It can also be translated as don't make something (∞) out of nothing (0) or a reminder that there are infinite opportunities to give a f***, but that I will remain steadfast in giving 0 f***s about things that don't really matter.
If you're the type of person who's struggled to keep their temper in line or if you're like me and you find yourself on an emotional roller-coaster because you take every event in the world and within your own life to heart, I strongly encourage you to read this book. If profanity is so much of a problem for you, that you can't tolerate reading the first half of this book (the last half is much less profane) you're probably too narrow-minded to have taken away any of the many philosophical benefits this book offers.
Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** employs a witty use of profanity laced with satirical comedy that's bursting with philosophical wisdom. Much of Manson's inspiration originates from nihilists, Buddhists, Albert Camus, and Charles Bukowski, but he brings those philosophies into a more modern and palatable perspective. He reminds us that life is too short to react so passionately about every little thing. We have a limited emotional capacity, and we often squander it on reactions to mean-spirited people or unfortunate events, completely forgetting that, although we can't control the world around us, we can control ourselves. This book has empowered me to exercise control over my reactions.
Shortly after reading this book, my husband commented at how "zen" I've become. I'm no longer angrily venting to him about all of the various ways the world upsets me. I still allow myself to feel and talk about things that bother me (I'm not aiming to achieve nirvana as a Buddhist monk), but petty things no longer have a hold on me. I let the negativity wash over me now without letting it absorb into my soul, and my life has been much more enjoyable as a result.
I was so inspired by this book and its philosophy, that I wanted a permanent reminder for myself to further ensure that I use my f***s wisely from now onward. For my birthday, I got this simple, but meaningful tattoo on my right wrist. The ∞ symbol reminds me of the infinite nature of time and outer space, and the 0 on the bottom represents humanity's relevance to time and space as a whole. It can also be translated as don't make something (∞) out of nothing (0) or a reminder that there are infinite opportunities to give a f***, but that I will remain steadfast in giving 0 f***s about things that don't really matter.
If you're the type of person who's struggled to keep their temper in line or if you're like me and you find yourself on an emotional roller-coaster because you take every event in the world and within your own life to heart, I strongly encourage you to read this book. If profanity is so much of a problem for you, that you can't tolerate reading the first half of this book (the last half is much less profane) you're probably too narrow-minded to have taken away any of the many philosophical benefits this book offers.
on September 14, 2016
There are a dozen of topics Mark goes through in this book. Some of the main themes are these:
(1) Choosing what to care about; focusing on the things/problems that are actually meaningful/important (= "giving a f*** about the right things")
(2) Learning to be fine with some negative things; always aiming for positivity isn't practical, and is stressful in itself
(3) Taking responsibility of your own life; it's good for your self-esteem not to keep blaming the circumstances for your problems
(4) Understanding the importance of honesty and boundaries, especially in relationships
(5) Identity; it might a good idea not to commit strongly to any special identity such as "an undiscovered genius", because then any challenges will make you fear the potential loss of that identity you've clinged to
(6) Motivation; how to improve it by accepting failure and taking action
(7) Death; how learning to be more comfortable with one's own mortality can make it easier to live
The first 20% of this book were a little bit boring to read, but after that, the experience was very absorbing. Just like Manson's previous book (Models), I will give this one five stars.
(BTW this book wasn't as humorous as I expected. It was much more a serious than a funny book to read. The final chapters, discussing the acceptance of death, made me actually a little bit tense and distressed.)
(1) Choosing what to care about; focusing on the things/problems that are actually meaningful/important (= "giving a f*** about the right things")
(2) Learning to be fine with some negative things; always aiming for positivity isn't practical, and is stressful in itself
(3) Taking responsibility of your own life; it's good for your self-esteem not to keep blaming the circumstances for your problems
(4) Understanding the importance of honesty and boundaries, especially in relationships
(5) Identity; it might a good idea not to commit strongly to any special identity such as "an undiscovered genius", because then any challenges will make you fear the potential loss of that identity you've clinged to
(6) Motivation; how to improve it by accepting failure and taking action
(7) Death; how learning to be more comfortable with one's own mortality can make it easier to live
The first 20% of this book were a little bit boring to read, but after that, the experience was very absorbing. Just like Manson's previous book (Models), I will give this one five stars.
(BTW this book wasn't as humorous as I expected. It was much more a serious than a funny book to read. The final chapters, discussing the acceptance of death, made me actually a little bit tense and distressed.)
on April 17, 2017
Personally, I enjoy this book and it helps me when I am having a rough day. It basically gives you permission to stop being a doormat. As a former doormat, I need reaffirmation alot right now and this book does it.
on July 14, 2017
I almost didn't read this book because the title gives a false impression of Mark Manson's true message. While reading chapter one, with the "f-bomb" in almost every sentence, I decided that if the book continued that way, I'd give up on it. Beginning with chapter two, Manson had pretty well gotten most of the expletive repetition out of his system, and continued on with keen observations based mostly on his own life, often written with humor, but offering truths worth thinking about for anyone interested in living a satisfying and honest life. The title may imply that one shouldn't "care" about anything, but that impression if furthest from the true message, which in a nut shell is - "choose carefully that which you care about and discard the rest", or put another way, "choose your battles wisely".
on June 6, 2017
This is one of the best books that I have read in years! Mark Manson's writing style is quick, clever, and enjoyable to read. I purchased a copy for all of my adult children because it is full of excellent advice. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to mentally grow without being preached to.
on May 17, 2017
I'm here for the same reason you are - Chris Hemsworth's instagram photo. So I picked up Mark Manson's #TheSubtleArtOfNotGivingAF* and at first I thought it was a cute coincidence that Bukowski and Orwell are referenced in the first chapter, not because Bukowski's a mastermind but because it made sense since this book seems like a 3rd cousin to his flippant writing style and philosophy.
By the 3rd chapter I started wondering if "New York Times BestSeller" means anything anymore. This is getting a 2-star review from me on Amazon 😌
The word "superficial" comes to mind and not in a materialistic kind of way, but the way that means on the surface, like Buzzfeed articles and teenybopper listicles read: they graze the tip of an iceberg matter before they fear losing readers so nothing ends up a fully researched and well-written point, instead one-liners and memes have replaced the rest of what could have been a good article.
Manson's whole book is like all his blogs pieced together, and none of them are long-form. Peppered with the overuse of f-bombs which I was offended by not because of the vulgarity, but because he butchers the art of using profanity to drive a point home. Every time I read a bad book I think it's time I write one myself, then I remember how long it takes me to write an email or over-wordy Instagram post and realize I don't have 11 years to spare. #aspergerproblems
By the 3rd chapter I started wondering if "New York Times BestSeller" means anything anymore. This is getting a 2-star review from me on Amazon 😌
The word "superficial" comes to mind and not in a materialistic kind of way, but the way that means on the surface, like Buzzfeed articles and teenybopper listicles read: they graze the tip of an iceberg matter before they fear losing readers so nothing ends up a fully researched and well-written point, instead one-liners and memes have replaced the rest of what could have been a good article.
Manson's whole book is like all his blogs pieced together, and none of them are long-form. Peppered with the overuse of f-bombs which I was offended by not because of the vulgarity, but because he butchers the art of using profanity to drive a point home. Every time I read a bad book I think it's time I write one myself, then I remember how long it takes me to write an email or over-wordy Instagram post and realize I don't have 11 years to spare. #aspergerproblems
on June 7, 2017
Absolutely loved this book. The title kind of turned me off at first and so did the F word when said inside but it eventually died out in future chapters, thank goodness. I highly recommend this book. I'm on my third read.
on September 19, 2016
This is one of the best books I have ever read. The information that is in the book is to scary and at the same way helpful. In the middle of reading this book I felt like, then what is the point on living? Why just don't die if we are going to do it anyways. I started to feel strange inside of me. I was scared because everything he writes about Is true. We all try to hard on impressing people. Try hard to make big goals and try to achieve them. But in the end we do it not for ourselfs we do it for the attention we will get in the result for that. We are not special, but in the same time we are. We are all unique bit not more special than the others. We live our life trying to be "successful" and convince ourself that it is because we want it for us. But in some cases we are not. We (and when I mean "we" I mean myself) try so much to achieve goals working hard everyday trying to come closer to that goal. But when I readed this book my eyes opened. I was wrong. I was not doing it for myself. I was doing it to prove others I am worth of their attention. Because I wanted to feel special because yeah. I always said to myself "nobody work hard enough for success so I am special I work harder than the others and that is why i deserve it more". I was every day working hard, I did not want to accept it but when I readed this book it really hurted me. I felt like he was 100% seeing through me. I felt like my life was pointless. All I did, the goals I was pursuing was only to make other think in the future. "Wow he is special. He worked hard to obtaining he's goals. He is inspiring". I wanted to show the people that made me feel bad about myself see me in the future and look up on me and say to themselves. "Well I think I am the real loser". But in this book I began to think. I was always looking at other people judging them about being at their 30-40 having a s***ty job, family, complaining about everyone and everything etc. Or the ones on my ages always working hard, making fools of themselves trying to get the attention of others. Or people screaming at others just to feel like they are better than the other person. I always felt sorry about them. When reading this book I realised I am exactly at them. We live our whole life trying to be somebody. When the real thing we should do is try to be the person we want to be. But it is not easy. The society always look up to successes and winners but never at the ones that are not that "successful" but are happy. And that make us all feel like we are not enough. Which we think is true. We give fu*ks about so many things that are not really important and that does not mean anything at all. The fact that we are going to die is terrifying. Not because we don't know what comes next, it's because, we thing yeah if we all will die then what is the point of trying? That's the reason this book is good it does not just make you unsure about all your beliefs. It also makes you realise that it does not mather at all if you are going to die. The real problem is what you should care about while you are alive. The old lady crossing the road in the pace of a turtle. Or the really fact that we are alive and are able to choose what we want to care about.
Why did i writte a so long post? Well because if this can help somebody in my situation it will be nice. And the other reason was for myself. Because even if I say I don't care I actually care about what others think about me, and even if you don't know me in person. Knowing someone readed this and got the inspiration to read the book then it's enough for me. To feel like I did something good.
And the third reason is because I liked the super hero "Disappointed Panda". He is cool and I would like a hero like that. Instead of the false super heroes that lies to others just to get liked by them.
So this is an executive book. It gives a new way to look at things. I really recomend it for the people that are tired of this world and the humans on it, and even worst that tries way to hard to imprese those humans you hate, because you were told that is the right way to fulfill yourself. "You should do like the rest",they said. It does not help in the long run. It have never and will never!
Why did i writte a so long post? Well because if this can help somebody in my situation it will be nice. And the other reason was for myself. Because even if I say I don't care I actually care about what others think about me, and even if you don't know me in person. Knowing someone readed this and got the inspiration to read the book then it's enough for me. To feel like I did something good.
And the third reason is because I liked the super hero "Disappointed Panda". He is cool and I would like a hero like that. Instead of the false super heroes that lies to others just to get liked by them.
So this is an executive book. It gives a new way to look at things. I really recomend it for the people that are tired of this world and the humans on it, and even worst that tries way to hard to imprese those humans you hate, because you were told that is the right way to fulfill yourself. "You should do like the rest",they said. It does not help in the long run. It have never and will never!
on June 24, 2017
It is an ok book.
The flagrant over use of ☆*☆* is amusing for the first few paragraphs. After that it just sounds like that annoying drunk at the bar the will not shut up.
Many useful analogies and stories are lost to useless interjections and elementary style writing.
The dust cover makes for an interesting conversation piece; that's about it.
The flagrant over use of ☆*☆* is amusing for the first few paragraphs. After that it just sounds like that annoying drunk at the bar the will not shut up.
Many useful analogies and stories are lost to useless interjections and elementary style writing.
The dust cover makes for an interesting conversation piece; that's about it.
on June 2, 2017
I got this book because I thought it sounded funny, but it is actually a serious (while funny) work on how to make the most of your life. I wish everyone read this book. It is excellent.
