We Care Too Much About Insignificant Things

 

"To not give a fuck is to stare down life's most terrifying and difficult actions and still take action..."

If you read our last article covering Manson's self-help book, see [link], then you know that when Mark said to "not try" he meant to not try and avoid the negative experiences associated with life that we are so afraid to face--  

and instead, tackle them head-on by "not giving a fuck."

As to what that entails, we'll cover it later. 

In the meantime, tell me if this sounds familiar:

"[You] give too many fucks in situations where fucks do not deserve to be given..."

I think that's something that all of us can relate to. Instead of caring about insignificant things, Manson advises:

    "[learn] how to focus and prioritize your thoughts effectively- how to pick and choose what matters to you and what does not matter to you based on finely honed personal values...it is perhaps the most worthy struggle one can undertake in one's life. It is perhaps the only struggle in one's life."

He continues,

    "[W]hen you give too many fucks- when you give a fuck about everyone and everything- you will feel that you're perpetually entitled to be comfortable and happy at all times, that everything is supposed to be exactly the fucking way you want it to be. This is a sickness. You will see every challenge as a failure, every inconvenience as a personal slight, every disagreement as a betrayal..."

I can't help but recall trials in my life where I've felt this way... before I was who I am now-- a naive child who only accepted the world where she felt comfortable. A girl who hid in the shadows and never left-- secretly miserable, secretly unsatisfied. 

So how do you not care about insignificant things? How do you "not give a fuck"?

Manson offers 3 subtleties to help us understand:

1. Not giving a fuck does not mean being indifferent; it means being comfortable with being different. 

2. To not give a fuck about adversity, you must first give a fuck about something more important than adversity.

3. Whether you realize it or not, you are always choosing what to give a fuck about.

We'll go over these more next Monday and finish the first chapter, make sure to stay tuned!

Buy the book: https://amzn.to/3Lq3pmj