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

“Life is essentially an endless series of problems. The solution to one problem is merely the creation of another.”  - Mark Manson 

2018 has already blessed us with enough F**k to give. From Dua Lipa’s IDGAF song becoming everyone’s favourite on the playlist to Mark Manson famously acclaimed book “The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F**K making in the #1 International Bestseller  list. Strange enough, both seemed to have found a place in my favourite 'F' list.

I fell in love with this book, even before reading it. I felt it was rather an unusual self-help book with an F-word written on the cover. And somewhere I had the feeling that the book might not teach me about how to live life, but more about how life should be lived without giving a damn F**K. There is a lot of cursing in the book and a lot of F-bomb dropped, so maybe you may want to skip if you are not used to saying/reading the swear lingo.

About the Book

Going by the book's title, many would assume it as a Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life. Yes, it is, but it is more about the Author making an 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. He advises readers to get to know our limitation and accept them. Because, the truth is once we embrace our faults and fears, or once we stop running away from problems we slowly begin to find courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.

According to the author, there are so many things we can give a f**k about, so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes it clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about the 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 humour, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives.

My Take on the Book

When the book first made it appearance on my social media timelines, I knew I had to read this book, and by the time I saw all the reviews on goodreads, I had already started reading the so very anticipated book of the month/year. Mark Manson captured the subtle art of not giving a F**K by manifesting us to focus on what was important in our lives. It is an honest perspective of living life under the radar of not having to fear what might happen in our life. The book has so much of connection between how I was taking my life with so many F**ks to give. Being a 20’s something independent women, and in such competitive era, sometimes we fail to understand and we start questioning ourselves with what is going wrong in our life? How can I be the best in everything I do? How do I impress my boss? Or How should I stop thinking about what others might feel about me? and so on. But, the book clearly states on not give F**K about anything. And, I ended questioning myself with, “Have I forgotten how to not give a f*ck”?  To which Mark Manson quoted in the book with, "Let’s be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it." 

Mark Manson also stated, “If what we value is unhelpful, if what we consider success/failure is poorly chosen, then everything based upon those values- the 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 truth is we have a choice to stop thinking about what others might think about us, or we can control what we can think. Manson makes us recognise our value based on the things we choose to give importance. For instance, if you are stuck with some problems in life, it is up to you whether to resolve the problem or whether you wish to walk away from it. The choice is yours!

There are so many wise words which Manson has shared in this book, and I was unable to stop and ponder on every sentence written on it. Manson gave us a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today. And, TBH Manson was brutally honest in saying the truth about how life should be or how we can choose to give a F**K about every single thing which does not matter. Because for Mason, “There are only so many things we can give a f**k about, so we need to figure out which ones really matter.”

Here’s to not giving a F**K about everything!!

Book Details:

Title: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

Autor: Mark Manson

Publisher: Harper Collins

Price: Rs 439 (Hard copy)

            Rs 499 (Paperback)

Pages: 224 pages

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0062837508

ISBN-13: 978-0062837509

My Rating: 4.7/5