Finished 07/01/2023
Everything Is F*cked
Not at the level of the first (The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***); it did not hook me and got lost in anecdotes, philosophizing, and generalities. I will add that I was distracted because I was also reading Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software and Difficult Women at the same time. The message is basic; it did not leave me much, though it was explained simply. Not very interesting, and his use of profanity felt forced.
Notes
- Everything is screwed. We have no hope, or rather we have lost it, and the only way out is to stop caring about certain things. By choosing a real goal, we will slowly get out of our situations and keep improving ourselves.
- We have two brains, the Emotional and the Reflective, which communicate poorly with each other. A familiar concept from other books, seen here in how many choices are driven by one or the other, and both extremes are harmful. You need to negotiate with your Emotional brain or it will keep pushing you into impulsive choices.
- To get out of the irrational problems you have (apathy, inability to get what you want, laziness), you need to suggest solutions to your Emotional brain. It is not enough to understand what is wrong; you need to find a way out.
- By the way: there is no change without suffering. The lie of eternal happiness and satisfaction is sold by marketers, but the more we get, the more dissatisfied we become. Instead of always chasing joy, we should embrace suffering and understand that life is also like this. This echoes the first book: focus on immaterial experiences; those are the ones that bring real joy.
- The world runs on feelings: everything we do aims either to upgrade pain (e.g., pain from braces instead of pain from crooked teeth) or to hide it (watching Netflix instead of the pain of studying, temporarily numbing it like a painkiller). Unfortunately, instead of upgrading or improving it, most new companies focus on hiding it, not solving the problem.
- Love people without expecting anything in return. This is the book’s takeaway for me, and I want to follow it through: love others naturally, create hope in others, be the first to start. A bit vague and again borrowed from the first book, to be honest.
- Do not shoot for the best, be the best. We spend much of life hoping for a miracle or stroke of luck to turn things around. It probably will not happen. Just be a better person to start with, a better partner, child, friend. You will create your better life yourself.
As you can see, these are pretty basic tips, but the book is light, so I would recommend it for a beach read.