The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: Care More About Caring Less

If you are bothered by Mark Manson’s profanity in his book, he would say you are giving a f*ck about the wrong thing.

In The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Manson writes, “Wanting a positive experience is a negative experience; accepting a negative experience is a positive experience.”

He describes situations that trap people in the “Feedback Loop from Hell.”

If you care too much about making your life better, you are damaging your mental health. Your thoughts remind you that you don’t have enough money, the best job, or the body you want.

If you worry about being perfect, it leads you to hate yourself and to harbor guilt about who you are.

There is a better way, Manson writes. Care less, or don’t give a f*ck. Focus on what is real, what is now.

Feel like sh*t today? That’s life. It’s OK to feel bad. Don’t hate yourself for it, he says. You will struggle. You will fail. Accept pain. Life will not always be OK.

This does not mean you don’t care. Manson writes that it is all about choosing what to give a f*ck about. Choose your battles. Focus on things you can control.

Millions are paying attention to Manson’s words. He first made his name as a blogger, but is even more famous as an author of this book, which has sold 12 million copies.

Three Books Top My Best List for 2022

I discovered a wealth of great reading last year and I reviewed the books I recommended on this website, Books and My Backpack (See List of Book Reviews in the menu).

Three stand out. If adventure is what you seek, North to Alaska is for you. Trevor Lund, a young Englishman, writes about his 16,276-mile bicycle journey from the southern tip of South America to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska. Going the opposite direction in a van, Mary Hollendoner weaves a compelling story of her family’s van journey through Central and South America in Monkeys on the Road.

Lund and Hollendoner endure challenges that would send most of us home and they bring home experiences that transformed their lives.

If you are weary of people who put happy faces on even the most difficult times, you will be drawn to my third choice, Toxic Positivity, by Whitney Goodman. This book more than lived up to the hype it attracted.

Click on the titles to read my review about each book.

What were your favorite books of 2022?