Recently I read the book- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson It focuses on the important aspects of life like responsibility, relationship, happiness and values. I liked the anecdotes he chose to deliver the message that people often find themselves in a emotional storms and very few people have the capacity to come out of that on their own therefore this book is for them to help them to overcome from their situation. An emotional storm is the recurring feeling of anxiety faced by the person.
The book is a great addition to my library such that it gives me a thoughtful inquiry into my own emotions and value system. The book briefly talks about the damaging effects of media and internet on the people’s values and life. The marketing process often ends highlighting the negatives and to sell the idea to the people for the capitalist gains. This form of media is not good for the mental health of the people and diseases like depression, stress , anxiety have become very common among the people.
Mark complains that in the present world people want to be happy by achieving unimportant things earning more money, shaping the body in a particular shape, to wear clothes like a celebrity, to buy an expensive car etc. These are often the materialistic things and they can never satisfy the person. To attain true happiness is the ability to solve own problems by taking action to solve those life’s problems.
The other important thing that Mark speak about is the self awareness- It is the process of knowing oneself better. It involves asking the why questions many a times when a person is stuck in a situation and to come to a point where the cause of the situation can be found out. The change should occur by the changing the value system of the person. It is a great way to adapt and to transform the way of thinking of the person. Ex- If a person is getting bothered by having less friends then he should ask himself that is it really necessary to have more friends? It is going to help him to achieve his personal goals? These questions help the person to settle down with more or less friends as found out by the person.
The writer says that at any point in life the choices that people make are based on two assumptions that if they fail they will blame something/someone and the responsibility is not theirs. The society we live in is a system with preset values and beliefs and therefore it is very important to adapt to it by taking responsible actions. So, it is important to take the responsibility of one’s life rather than to blame it on something/someone.
The book also provides an insight into building relationships stronger. The problems in any relationship arises due to not taking up proper responsibilities of each other. It is very important to take up own responsibility and feel good about each other. It also gives the freedom to the partners to pursue their interests. The Beatles drummer -Pete Best who retired ended up being happier than being in the Beatles band because he was able to share the responsibilities harmoniously with his wife and that resulted him in being a happier married couple.
The writer also talks about teachings of Buddhism which explains that the point of life is that there is no point of life. Buddha was a king who had never felt the pain so he took the pain on himself – leaving his family, castle and people behind. He lived in the wilderness and spent his lives on alms. Later he found that there is actually no point in taking unnecessary pain in life since happiness and pain are inseparable part of life. The good values must be implemented in life- Sacrifice, feeling pain, learning new skills etc. whereas values like being materialistic, feeling good, earning a lot of money are often irrelevant values. The book speaks to the reader and explains that the Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck is actually means to give a lot of fucks about important things in life.
Life experiences 