Worth Books

t’s much more productive to be okay with feeling bad about certain things—and then let the feeling go.

The fact that we feel bad about so many things shows that we give too many fucks about too many things. Better, then, to accept our disappointments and focus our time and energy on things we can do. To not give a fuck is to accept our circumstances and our lives. It doesn’t mean that we’ve given up or that we shouldn’t try to improve our station; it simply means that just because we don’t have the best car, the most fulfilling job, or the most Instagram-worthy party pictures, our lives aren’t complete failures. When we give fewer fucks about achieving wildly unrealistic and unlikely goals, we free ourselves from our own exhausting expectations. And, ironically, the peace we gain from this process will provide more clarity. It will show us which things we should truly give a fuck about.

Not giving a fuck” is about letting go of the stuff you can’t control. Focusing your concern (fucks) on things that you can do, no matter how small, is much more productive.

Happiness comes from accepting failure and working sincerely to overcome it.

Much of our misery is caused by valuing the wrong things or valuing things without thought.

Manson concluded that maybe he was measuring his relationship incorrectly.

Sometimes life absolutely sucks, and we must acknowledge it head-on if we want to get past it.

accepting our lack of awesomeness can be liberating.

Most of us can’t change our disappointments, but we can decide how we weather them

Mark Manson wants you to know it’s okay to feel bad.