Title: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
Author: Mark Manson
Book Length (Audiobook): 5 hours 17 mins
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Genre: Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology
Read Start Date: September 21, 2019
Read Finish Date: September 22, 2019
Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads: 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 American 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.
My Review: “Giving too many fucks is bad for your mental health”. Truer words had never been spoken! Except for maybe a “key to a good life is giving a fuck about less”. Unlike other self help books, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k tells it to ya in a brutally honest way. I’ve read other self help books, but what makes this unique (besides the casual swearing) is the fact that there are no sugar coated, ice cream pooping unicorns in this book. Like, you know that time your boyfriend cheated on you, and then you felt bad about it? Well, it’s your fault you feel bad. Seriously? It’s not the cheating boyfriend’s fault? Well, here’s the thing: Can you control that he cheated on you? Nope. Can you control his actions? Nope. But you can control your response to such actions, and you can take responsibility for the way you feel. This is a really uncomfortable realization — that only you can control your own happiness. My mind was blown. Totally.
Although this book was short, I do not feel that it lacked anything that longer self help books do (and it might even have been better this way). The author is just really good at cutting to the chase and saying what he needs to say in minimal words.
If you enjoy self help books, I would check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.
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