The thing about self help books is that most of them talk about the same things in different ways.
For example,
Self Help book #1 The colour is blue.
Self Help book #2 Blue is the colour.
Mark Manson, in his book, already assumes that you know about the colour being blue. And with that assumption he goes on to tell you WHY the colour is blue and WHAT that means for you. It also addresses areas where you might think the colour is blue and everyone will tell you that it is, but it really isn’t.
His book is like that math teacher who wants you to understand the logic behind what you’re solving rather than simply learning the formulae. Like that math teacher, this book is rare. And like that math teacher, this book is precious.
What this book does for you
This book will not feed you positive thinking and its power. It won’t tell you how to be successful or claim to solve all your life problems. It will not promise to change your life forever. And in doing just that it will change your perspective in the long run in so many ways.
The book is all about tough love. It is like having a conversation with a friend who really cares about you but will call you out on your bullshit. You can hate that and resist it initially but you know that’s exactly what you need to move towards the kind of life you want to live.
About the title and the tone
The title of the book and his writing style may mislead you initially into believing that its content isn’t wise, just amusing (or maybe that was just me). But Mark Manson is a really smart guy and he has a deep understanding of what he is talking about. He is honest and direct in conveying what he knows and is man enough to draw from his own mistakes and examples.
What it really talks about
He addresses a variety of issues like the travel bug and social media centric lifestyle that seems to impact almost every millennial to the acceptance of inevitability of death to the importance and impact of your value system in life to how it is so important to define concepts like happiness and success for yourself without drawing comparisons with those
around you.
It also deals with relationships (toxic and healthy) and boundaries, the concept of having/wanting to be special or extraordinary and contributing to and being a part of something bigger than ourselves.
Final thoughts
I finished my page markers while reading this book. It’s one of the most beneficial and important non-fiction books I’ve ever read and I know I will keep going back to it.
4.5 ⭐
I truly believe that with every book, it really depends on the phase/mindset you’re in and what you’re looking for that really determines whether you’ll enjoy it or not. So, you can figure out if you should pick it up if you relate to any of these Reasons to read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck.
Hargun Kaur Sachdev 