The title of
the bestselling book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson may be
a little bit off-putting and in fact, a lot of people actually misconstrue the
content of the book based on the, well, vulgar title.
As the old
saying goes, never judge a book by its cover, and that saying certainly applies
to this book.
While yes,
it may be crude and it may be vulgar, it really does offer a lot of great
insight into why it’s important to stop caring so much about the things that
don’t matter in life and why people should start concentrating more on the
things that are the most important to them.
To summarize
the content of the book, it is about values and how people often misplace their
values, putting too much emphasis on things that don’t really hold value to
their lives – and not enough emphasis on the things that are truly important to
them.
According to
Manson, when people do this, they end up missing out and not living a life that
could be much more fulfilling.
After
reading this book, I found that it offered some very tangible information and
valuable lessons that everyone could benefit from. I can honestly say that
after reading it, I actually feel like I was giving less of a f*ck and
concentrating more on what matters.
What lessons
did I learn, and what lessons could all readers learn from The Subtle Art of
Not Giving a F*ck? Here’s a look at some of the top lessons that this
life-changing book imparted on me.
Quick
Navigation
1. The
Secret to Life is NOT Having the “Best”
2. Less
Really IS More
3.
Comparisons are a Waste
4. Wanting
Better Isn’t Making Us Better
5. Accepting
Your Personal Experiences is SO Valuable
6. Stop
Searching for Happiness and realize its Already There
7. Negative
Experiences are Valuable
8. Stop
Caring About “Fitting” In
9. We’re All
Going to Die Someday
Stop Giving
a F*ck
1. The
Secret to Life is NOT having the “Best”
So many
people have been mislead with regard to what the "secret" to living a
good life is. They think that they need to have the best job, make the most
money, drive the best car, have the hottest girlfriend or boyfriend and live in
the biggest and best house.
While all of
this might be well and good, it certainly isn’t going to lead to any deep
enrichment or fulfillment. These are all superficial, material things and in the
end, believing that they will make your life better will actually make you feel
depressed and empty.
2. Less
Really IS More
The say that
less is more, and this book taught me that less really is more.
Caring about
more–getting more stuff, things that haven’t happened yet, things in the
unforeseeable future–aren’t going to make life better; they’re going to make
life more stressed out.
Caring more
about what is true and the most important to you is what really leads to
happiness.
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3.
Comparisons are a Waste
Thanks to
the Internet and social media, we now have a myriad of ways to compare
ourselves to others, which also means that we have an infinite number of ways
to see that we aren’t measuring up, that we aren’t as good as someone else and
that our lives aren’t as picture-perfect as they could be.
The truth
is, making comparisons doesn’t do anybody any good. It makes you feel like you
are less and that you don’t offer as much value. And at the same time, it puts
people on a pedestal that they really don’t belong on (who belongs on a
pedestal, anyway?)
We all want
better. We want to get a better job, earn more money, live in a better house,
drive a better car, have better relationships, have a better body; but wanting
better is actually counter-intuitive.
It makes you
focus less on the things that you have and more on the things that you don’t.
This, in turn, makes you appreciate the many wonderful things that you do have,
as you are constantly on a quest to find something that is bigger and better.
When in fact, what you already have is pretty awesome.
5. Accepting
Your Personal Experiences is SO Valuable
Everyone
experiences life differently, and trying to constantly compare yourself to
others, not accepting the experiences that you have had, or devaluing them
actually ends up making you miss out on what really matters: Your personal
experiences.
Life truly
is what you make of it, and if you are overlooking your experiences, you aren’t
getting the most out of it.
6. Stop
Searching for Happiness and Realize It’s Already There
We are
constantly on a quest to find happiness. We're never satisfied with what we
have right in front of us while we are on our quest for happiness. And the
truth is, happiness is sitting right there in front of all of us.
If we’d stop
searching for it, we'd realize that we really do have happiness in our lives,
and we'd be able to embrace it.
The Subtle
Art of Not Giving a Fuck
What's
Inside?
Chapter 1:
Don't Try
Chapter 2:
Happiness is a Problem
Chapter 3:
You Are Not Special
Chapter 4:
The Value of Suffering
Chapter
5: You are Always Choosing
Chapter 6:
You're Wrong About Everything
Chapter 7:
Failure is the Way Forward
Chapter 8:
The importance of Saying No
Chapter 9:
... And Then You Die
READ THE
REVIEWS
7. Negative
Experiences are Valuable
Everything
in life teaches us valuable lessons, even the mistakes that we make and the
negative experiences that we have. Through those negative experiences, we learn
a lot about who we are, what’s important to us, and where we are going.
Those
negative experiences actually help to guide us to bigger and better things, so
we shouldn’t overlook them or try to shut them away; we should embrace them and
accept that they are beneficial, even if it doesn’t seem like they are at the
time.
8. Stop
Caring About “Fitting” In
Everyone
tries so hard to be a part of the crowd, but what’s the fun in that?
Every single
person is a unique individual, which is one of the things that make humans so
awesome. Focusing so much on trying to fit in and be like everyone else covers
up your uniqueness, which can ultimately make you unhappy.
Embrace your
individuality and it will guide you to true happiness.
9. We’re All
Going to Die Someday
That’s a
stark, sobering, but true fact. Stop focusing so much on trying to be perfect,
or you’ll miss out on the only opportunity that you have to enjoy life.
Stop Giving
a F*ck
Those are
just nine of the lessons I learned from The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.
Mark Manson breaks it down so clearly and plainly that this doesn't feel like
your typical "self-help" book. It's more of a guy getting you back
into reality and adjusting the way you view life.
If you've
never read this book, I highly suggest checking it out. And if you've read it
already, leave a comment with some of your biggest takeaways.
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