Last night I read Chapter 2 of the book, but didn't get to do my "report."

It took me awhile to understand what Manson meant when he titled this chapter "happiness is a problem." It's not that happiness is literally the problem, rather, to be happy is to have and solve problems. The key is solving these problems. 

Just as our pain tolerance is a biological warning to protect us, our life problems are there to help guide us in life. And once certain problems are solved, it will just to lead to other problems, albeit "better" problems. One good example he brought up was: "People without a family suffer because they have no family. People with family suffer because of their family." I think this is the same as saying, people want what others have or don't have. We humans are never satisfied with what we have, hence the search for happiness that is probably a dead-end for the most part.

A few phrases that I think summarize it all:

• Who you are is defined by what you're willing to struggle for.
• Our struggles determine our successes.

If you want the reward, if you want to reach the top of the mountain, you'd have to be willing to suffer for it. And humans hate suffering, so it's much easier to choose the easy path. This includes denial and avoidance. But then, why cry and whine that you didn't get what you want? You didn't want to work it for it, so what makes you think you should've gotten the reward?

Denying that you have any problems, or blaming others or circumstances for your problems or inability to be solved, are ways to "feel good" in the moment, but surely the problems weren't solved and are bound to come back to haunt you.

Labels: book review, Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck

 Last night I read Chapter 2 of the book, but didn't get to do my "report."

It took me awhile to understand what Manson meant when he titled this chapter "happiness is a problem." It's not that happiness is literally the problem, rather, to be happy is to have and solve problems. The key is solving these problems. 

Just as our pain tolerance is a biological warning to protect us, our life problems are there to help guide us in life. And once certain problems are solved, it will just to lead to other problems, albeit "better" problems. One good example he brought up was: "People without a family suffer because they have no family. People with family suffer because of their family." I think this is the same as saying, people want what others have or don't have. We humans are never satisfied with what we have, hence the search for happiness that is probably a dead-end for the most part.

A few phrases that I think summarize it all:

• Who you are is defined by what you're willing to struggle for.
• Our struggles determine our successes.

If you want the reward, if you want to reach the top of the mountain, you'd have to be willing to suffer for it. And humans hate suffering, so it's much easier to choose the easy path. This includes denial and avoidance. But then, why cry and whine that you didn't get what you want? You didn't want to work it for it, so what makes you think you should've gotten the reward?

Denying that you have any problems, or blaming others or circumstances for your problems or inability to be solved, are ways to "feel good" in the moment, but surely the problems weren't solved and are bound to come back to haunt you.

Labels: book review, Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck