The subtle art of not giving a f*ck

By Mark Manson 

I loved this book. It is a real self help in the most surprising way possible. It's all about realising your own potential, or rather lack there of, and accepting it. Living happily rather that wasting time striving for something you see in a movie, on TV or more likely these days, online. Constantly trying to aspire to greatness and seeking meaning in it will only lead to disappointment and heart-ache as you will quickly realise that if if you make that goal a reality you will quickly become dissatisfied with you new position and long for next. Its that spiral of hell and the only way to get out of it is "not give a f*ck". More positively, this book is about re-prioritizing your life in a more realistic fashion and becoming content with oneself.

Synopsis

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, Mason 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.

Author

Mark Manson (born March 9, 1984) is an American self-help author, blogger and entrepreneur. He is the author of the website MarkManson.net and two books, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living the Good Life, and Models: Attract Women through Honesty. He is also the CEO and founder of Infinity Squared Media LLC.