3 Blatant Errors in Mark Manson’s Book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.

There are three things Mark Mason got wrong in the first chapter of his book, The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck.

Don’t Try

Don’t Try may have been the epitaph on Bukowski’s headstone, but it wasn’t how he lived.

Bukowski didn’t conform to societal standards, but he tried to achieve success as an artist.

Even though he should have given up by 49, when becoming a poet seemed impossible, Bukowski knew more than anyone that he couldn’t live without trying.

Success, in any endeavour, is never handed to anyone on a platter of gold.

By accepting not to try, you are removing the core requirements from achieving any level of success.

For someone who wrote thousands of poems and 6 novels, the first after he was already 49 years old, Bukowski tried a lot.

Making fun of affirmations

The first time I read the line,

‘No truly happy person feels the need to stand in front of the mirror to recite that she is happy, she just is’

It made sense. You are either something, or you are not.

Manifesting it by confession or affirmation doesn’t change the reality. But from personal experience, that thinking is short-sighted.

Living can be a hard experience.

It can be in the real sense, and it could also be your brain is making stuff up.

So that, sometimes, you can have everything you want, or at least, your basic needs, and you still feel terrible.

Confession is a practice that reminds you of who you are, and your privilege, even though you don’t feel that way.

I can count several times when I felt out of sorts, even though I still had a good life.

Confession is a tool to get out of the rut in your mind.

It can sound funny to the uninitiated, and there is no empirical evidence to prove it works.

But it works.

Bukowski was an outlier

A line in the chapter says this

‘Self-improvement and success often occur together. But it doesn’t necessarily mean they are the same thing.’

Bukowski was a successful poet and artist, not because of his shortcomings, but despite it.

Even though he succeeded despite his shortcomings, that is not a recipe for success.

Self-improvement doesn’t cause success, it improves your chances.

Self-improvement is enough, in and of itself.

Bill Gates still reads voraciously.

He is a centi-billionaire.

He doesn’t need to succeed again, but he still reads, because getting better, is a worthy goal.

You can be successful without self-improvement, but you are better served if you chase the two.

Conclusion

I tried to read TSAONGAF again, and couldn’t wrap my head around the points the first chapter was trying to make.

It is a solid book, 7/10, but these logic gaps can trip up anyone. So beware of them.

You can choose to try or not.

You can chase self-improvement for the sake of it, or because you want to be successful.

And you can certainly meditate, affirm and visualise if it gets you on the path to success.

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