Book Review, Summary, Highlights, and Quotes from The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
For a long time, I held off on reading it because The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck seemed a bit too cliche and marketed to the masses…but I am glad that I read it.
The first few chapters are gold. I was bookmarking every other page.
However after that, it cooled down a bit…still, this book proved to be a quick, insightful, and entertaining read covering everything from happiness to entitlement, and from living life to the fullest to accepting death.
Mark and I see eye to eye on a lot of things.
In fact this is a book that I would have loved to have written. Damn you Mark! You beat me to it!
But all joking aside, I think he’s right about life in so many ways.
The key to a good life is not giving a fuck about more: it’s giving a fuck about less, giving a fuck about only what is true and immediate and important.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
The key to a good life is exactly as he described.
It is giving a fuck about less things, and focusing on the few things that you do choose to give a fuck about.
For me, that is my marriage, my family, my health, continuous learning, having fun, and travel.
Ultimately, living a good life is the 80/20 rule coming out yet again.
Focus on what you can control -> the 20% that moves the needle.
And a good life will follow.
Of course, there’s a deeper dive inside the pages. At its core, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is about finding YOUR happiness.
And that is certainly something I am all about!
If you enjoy this blog, then you too should read it.
AR’s Book Score: 7.5 out of 10
Mark Manson’s Summary of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
I was going to give you my key highlights and usual summary, but why?
Mark decided to give his own summary, so I’m not going to bother to pretend after one read-through I know this book better than him.
Check out his full video here:
Best Quotes from The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
The pain you pursue in the gym results in better all-around health and energy. The failures in business are what lead to a better understanding of what’s necessary to be successful. Being open with your insecurities paradoxically makes you more confident and charismatic around others. The pain of honest confrontation is what generates the greatest trust and respect in your relationships. Suffering through your fears and anxieties is what allows you to build courage and perseverance.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Here’s a sneaky truth about life. There’s no such thing as not giving a fuck. You must give a fuck about something. It’s part of our biology to always care about something and therefore to always give a fuck.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
You can’t be an important and life-changing presence for some people without also being a joke and embarassment to others. You just can’t.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Life itself is a form of suffering. The rich suffer because of their riches. The poor suffer because of their poverty. People without a family suffer because they have no family. People with family suffer because of their family. People who pursue wordly pleasures suffer because of their worldly pleasures.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
The constant dissatisfaction has kept our species fighting and striving, building and conquiering. So no – our own pain and misery aren’t a bug of human evolution: they’re a feature.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Problems never stop; they merely get exchanged and/or upgraded.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
The truth is that there’s no such thing as a personal problem. If you’ve got a problem, chances are millions of other people have had it in the past, have it now, and are going to have it in the future.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
People who become great at something become great because they understand that they’re not already great – they are mediocre, they are average – and that they could be so much better.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Instead of looking to be right all the time, we should be looking for how we’re wrong all the time. Because we are.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
In the long run, completing a marathon makes us happier than eating chocolate cake. Raising a child makes us happier than beating a video game. Starting a small business with friends while struggling to make ends meet makes us happier than buying a new computer.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
We all get dealt cards. Some of us get better cards than others. And while it’s easy to get hung up on our cards, and feel we got screwed over, the real game lies in the choices we make with those cards, the risks we decide to take, and the consequences we choose to live with.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
I say don’t find yourself. I say never know who you are. Because that’s what keeps you striving and discovering. And it forces you to remain humble in your judgements and accepting of the differences in others.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
The narrower and rarer the identity you choose for yourself, the more everything will seem to threaten you. For that reason, define yourself in the simplest and most ordinary ways possible.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
If it feels like it’s you versus the world, chances are it’s really just you versus yourself.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
We can be truly successful only at something we’re willing to fail at. If we’re unwilling to fail, then we’re unwilling to succeed.
– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
More from Mark Manson
- Website: markmanson.net
- Twitter: @IAmMarkManson
- Instagram: @markmanson
- Facebook: @Markmansonnet
- Youtube: @iammarkmanson