Monday, February 21, 2022

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F-ck by Mark Manson – Book Review

I wasn't sure what The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson was going to be like when I started it but I was curious what 'the hype' was all about. So I figured 'why not?'

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F-ck by Mark Manson - personal photography
I bought both The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and the second book Everything Is F*cked. Though I was planning to read the latter in 2021, that never happened. So hopefully I'll be reading and reviewing it this year – 2022. (I'm just giving myself a timeline.)

"There is a simple realization from which all personal improvement and growth emerges. This is the realization that we, individually, are responsible for everything in our lives, no matter the external circumstances."


The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is a book about life and experiences. While it's not for everyone, there's lots of storytelling and ideas that serve as food for thought. 

Here are my main takeaways and notes from the book: 

1)    Mark Manson is a great storyteller. No he's not a novelist but he can keep you captivated with a story for a few pages till he gets to the point he wants you to see.

2)    There are many worthwhile thoughts and quotes in there. (You'll see many of them here and the rest are on my Instagram page.)

3)    There's lots of food for thought. Particularly this next quote/section:

"Take a moment and think about something that's really bugging you. Now ask yourself why it bugs you. Chances are the answer will involve a failure of some sort. Then take that failure and ask why it seems "true" to you. What if that failure wasn't really a failure? What if you've been looking at it the wrong way?"

If you're wondering about how much profanity is in the book, well the title should be a strong indicator. Personally, I thought Manson overused the 'f' word. I mean there were parts where you could just move on without using it, but he just added it.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F-ck by Mark Manson - personal photography at the beach


Though The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck involves good storytelling there were many stories where Manson speaks about ex-girlfriends that I thought were boring.

And since the book focuses on experiences, here's an interesting thought/comment/quote about experiences:

"Values underlie everything we are and do. If what we value is unhelpful, if what we consider success/failure is poorly chosen, when everything based on those values – thoughts, the emotions, the day to day feelings – will all be out of whack. Everything we think and feel about a situation ultimately comes back to how valuable we perceive it to be."

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is a light read. It's a break from suspense and fantasy novels (that I like to read) and the heavy informative self-help and non-fiction books (that I come across).

But if you really want to summarize the book, then this is it: (excuse the profanity)

The 3 subtleties of not giving a f*ck:

Subtlety #1: Not giving a f*ck does not mean being indifferent, it means being comfortable with being different.

Subtlety #2: To not give a f*ck about adversity, you must first give a f*ck about something more important than adversity.

Subtlety #3: Whether you realize it or not, you are always choosing to what to give a f*ck about.

And if you're looking for some confusing wisdom, read this one. Think about it and you'll realize it makes a lot of sense:

 


Overall rating for The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson: 3 stars. Hopefully, I'll get to his second book over the summer.

Keep up with me on Instagram to see the remaining quotes that I liked in the book.


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