Author Topic: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck  (Read 6190 times)

frontstepdesign

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The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck
« on: January 29, 2018, 05:15:38 PM »
So this title originally referred to a blog post somewhat discussed here in the Forum, but that author has turned it into a book now, and I've read it, and got a lot out of it, of which the blog post focus is a very small amount.

Because although it's pretty easy to say "I'm going to be different and not give a fuck about X", how do you choose what to give a fuck about?  Is there a more efficient way to decide, other than "life experience"?

I particularly liked the meat of the book, which is: There are popular ideas that are actually Shitty Values, destructive to the holder and society at large; and some Useful Values, and how to tell the difference.  Manson proposes 5 Useful Values, which align very well with Alain de Botton's YouTube channel 'The School of Life' (another worthwhile time investment):
  • Take responsibility for everything in your life regardless who's at fault.  Crap will happen to you that isn't your fault; but you can decide how you feel about it, and what your response will be.
  • Uncertainty: acknowledge your own ignorance, cultivate constant doubt in own beliefs.
  • Be willing to discover your own flaws and mistakes in order to improve.
  • Be able to both say and hear no, to define what's allowed in your life.
  • Keep your own death in mind, to keep perspective.
Has anyone else read it?  I'm thinking I'll try it again in a year, and see how I've done over that period. #4 is a super hard balance for me: I'm very curious about experiences, and the 'opportunity cost' of checking into Interesting Things really intrudes into other goals I want to achieve.  So #5 helps - when I die, what things do I want to be sure of having done.  Choices, it's all choices.

uretmen

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Re: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2018, 04:42:06 AM »
the last book about -not giving fuck- to life was IKIGAI. this book based on Japanese understanding of life and try to help find the way of long life. May be it can be helpful for you

ProfessorCalvo

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Re: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2018, 05:43:46 AM »
I just finished reading this book a few weeks ago, loved it!

 I’d be interested to hear your experience once you’re done (if not done already given the post is from January), especially given you are taking a more specific set of instructions from the book. I enjoyed it but used it as a general mindset changer instead of turning it into discrete instructions but can absoltely see the value in both approaches.

profnot

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Re: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2018, 03:17:17 PM »
I found this book refreshing and practical.

OP - thanks for the correct presentation.  Great job!

FrugaNL

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Re: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck
« Reply #4 on: October 04, 2018, 01:12:41 PM »
This was a good read. Munched trough it on a flight from Amsterdam to Prague and back and didn't even realise we landed...

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck
« Reply #5 on: December 11, 2018, 04:22:28 PM »
I read it but thought it should have stayed an article. There simply isn't enough information in it to justify a book-length manuscript and it would have benefited from a machete-wielding editor. It is probably OK for an airplane but repeats itself ad nauseam. I passed it on to someone else.