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Review: The Self-help Book That Doesn't Give a Damn

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson.

Image Credit: HarperCollins

You’re probably thinking; another self-help book, another guy who claims to know the secrets to happiness and by the last page you will think you’re the most mindful and positive person in the room.
This book is not that.
It is the black sheep of the industry and is the 2016 number one New York Times Best Seller for a reason.
As the author, Mark Manson, says: “This book doesn’t give a f*** about alleviating your problems or your pain…. This book is not some guide to greatness.”
Manson calls out other self-help gurus calling the modern industry the “French fries and soda version of personal growth”.
Manson encourages us to live in the average, realise it’s okay for things to suck sometimes, to try less and reserve your f***’s for what truly matters.
Manson uses his crude humour, engaging storytelling and honest personal recounts to help us sift through the BS in life, find the problems we enjoy solving and readjust the values in life worth our time.
This book is great for someone who struggles to finish reading a book.
Manson tricks you into reading a book about values by beginning his chapters with stories about fallen rock stars, Buddha, WWII heroes or the time he got busted for weed in middle school and turns them into highly relatable reality checks.
Here are five memorable quotes from the book:
“You and everyone you know are going to be dead soon. And in the short amount of time between here and there, you have a limited amount of fucks to give. Very few, in fact.  And if you go around giving a f*** about everything and everyone without conscious thought or choice – well, then you’re going to get f***ed.”
“All of this “every person can be extraordinary and achieve greatness” stuff is basically just jerking off your ego. It’s a message that tastes good going down, but in reality is nothing more than empty calories that make you emotionally fat and bloated, the proverbial Big Mac for your heart and your brain. The ticket to emotional health, like that to physical health, comes from eating your veggies – that is, accepting the bland and mundane truths of life.”
“We’re apes. We think we’re all sophisticated with our toaster ovens and designer footwear, but we’re just a bunch of finely ornamented apes. And because we are apes, we instinctually measure ourselves against others and vie for status. The question is not whether we evaluate ourselves against others; rather, the question is by what standard do we measure ourselves?”
“Because here’s the thing that’s wrong with all of the “How to Be Happy” shit that’s been shared eight million times on Facebook in the past few years… Here’s what nobody realizes about all of this crap: The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience.”
“Our crisis is no longer material; it’s existential, it’s spiritual. We have so much fucking stuff and so many opportunities that we don’t even know what to give a fuck about anymore.

I get emailed all the time for signed copies of Subtle Art. Last week I signed about 100 books for @strandbookstore, where you can order them online for a limited time. And yes, they ship internationally! So if you want a signed copy, go to their website at strandbooks.com. They’re all there.

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