In his latest book, “Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope,” author Mark Manson suggests that readers ponder the various ways the world around us impacts our thoughts, emotions and actions. When our headspace is constantly bombarded with loaded emotional content, we become increasingly anxious and depressed.
We’ve been misled to believe that, despite all of the horrible things that persistently surround us, we must continue to pretend that everything is perfect. Manson is here to disprove our constant need for satisfaction while reminding us that life has always been f*cked up, but that’s okay. You can still have hope in a dark place.
We live in a very unique era: Although materially, everything is better than it’s ever been, our generation faces more than a few issues. “The planet is warming,” writes Manson, “governments are failing, economies are collapsing, and everyone is perpetually offended on Twitter.” He isn’t here just to stoke your fears, though; the unconventional self-help author offers advice about money, religion, politics, entertainment, the internet and how “too much of a good thing can psychologically eat us alive.”
On top of consistently releasing new content that urges people to become more aware of their own toxic traits and tendencies, Manson is currently hosting events in the Americas, the U.K. and Australia to encourage self-reflection. While traveling around the world, the insightful speaker has been frequenting talk shows and attending live Q&A sessions in order to connect with fans on a more personal level. Tickets are still available for the second half of his tour, an experience that is bound to be extremely enjoyable (and potentially life-changing) for many.
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Despite his popularity, Manson has also inspired his fair share of critics. “Some people say I’m an idiot,” he writes on his website. “Other people say I saved their life.” Even so, the modern journalist does not shy away from a little provocation in his writing; Manson entices readers to engage with their own beliefs and values while reading his arguments. The readers themselves must decide whether or not they agree with his opinions on the central themes of life.
Indeed, on the day “Everything Is F*cked” became available in stores, the celebrity author also posted a related piece, titled “#FAKEFREEDOM,” on his website. In the article, he explores one of the most prevalent subjects in “Everything Is F*cked.” The concept of “Fake Freedom,” which argues that there is a problem with humans constantly feeling as though they are starving for something bigger and better, might remind readers of the old adage: “Be careful what you wish for.”
Offering commentary on mindlessness as an inevitable byproduct of consumerism, Manson explores how the issue at hand makes humans more fragile, more addicted to their compulsive behaviors and more insecure about the choices they make due to the mass influx of options.
“This is the problem with exalting freedom over human consciousness,” he writes. “More stuff doesn’t make us freer, it imprisons us with anxiety over whether we chose or did the best thing. More stuff causes us to become more prone to treating ourselves and others as means rather than ends. It makes us more dependent on the endless cycles of hope.”
In an interview with Daily Stoic, Manson elaborates on one of his textual references to Nietzsche, the concept of amor fati, or “love of fate.” The Latin aphorism encourages us, as a society, to accept the things that are out of control, and even further, to learn how to revel in them. Manson then goes on to discuss of the value of suffering and how it actually gives our lives meaning.
“I think what’s so clever about Nietzsche’s assertion, ‘love your fate,’ is that love is not always pleasant,” he explains. “If you think of the people you love most in your life, you love them despite the pain and bulls—t they cause. You embrace and accept their flaws even though you don’t always like them. The same must be true for life. Pain is not only inevitable in life, but it is the defining experience of life.”
Even though his writing might come across as snarky, and often condescending, the unfiltered personal motivation coach is once again using controversial language to shake the world around him with insightful truths. The heaviest and most uncomfortable truth brought to life in “Everything is F*cked” deals with the certainty of death, and why we must come to term with this phenomenon to fully understand the meaning of our individual lives.
“We are largely responsible for any meaning we cultivate from our own life,” he writes. “Therefore, we have to take these questions about sacrifice, pain and hope seriously.” This is not the first time Manson suggests the importance of “contemplating one’s death in order to gain better clarity on the value of what exists in one’s life,” and the spin he puts on the dreariness of life is oddly fascinating.
Manson has a very uplifting yet simultaneously grounding way of pointing out the good aspects of a bad situation. His latest project, “Everything is F*cked” is out now, liberating readers to embrace all of the aspects of life, especially if it’s not mainstream. Make sure to get your hands on a copy of this new book if you are open to defying your definitions of faith, freedom, happiness and hope.
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