Mark Manson is an American self-help author and blogger who is best known for writing the bestseller, “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.” Once this book was released, he changed the self-help world and people’s lives for the better by giving straightforward, counterintuitive advice to individuals on improving their lives.
I remember reading his book a year ago, and I can say from experience that it changed my life forever. He spoke of things I never thought of before, and after thinking hard about them, it all made complete sense.
Today, Manson continues to help the world become a better place by giving advice and helping them overcome their fears and inner struggles. Recently, he began podcasting, and his most recent on “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Podcast” was on three essential questions people should be asking themselves to determine their levels of happiness and how well they are taking care of themselves.
Manson opens his podcast with his co-host, Drew Birnie, sharing his most viral piece of content out of his thousands of posts on social media. This post was the “3 Questions That Determine 99% of Your Happiness.” Ironically, as Manson says in the podcast, the content of that post does not give people any advice whatsoever.
For those who are out there struggling with their health, relationships and passions, this podcast is for them because these questions will help them reflect on themselves and what they can do to improve.
Despite that, I believe the title itself is what attracted people to read it because it may help people start questioning their levels of happiness and health and determine what they need to do to improve themselves.
The first question mentioned is: “How well am I treating my body, and why?”
Manson continues by saying that, based on research on health and well-being, a small amount of physical exercise, dieting, nutrition and sleep can drastically impact a person’s psychology. He also mentions how 30 minutes of exercise per day can have just as much of an effect as medication does.
Hearing this piece of information was intriguing because it made me think that maybe we, as a society, should preach about taking less medications and exercising more.
Birnie mentions how this adds a spiritual side to it. I also found this interesting because if we get in touch with our spirituality, then I believe we can be healthier and happier with ourselves. I do think, as Manson spoke from personal experience, that doing small things instead of doing nothing will increase your happiness levels drastically.
The second question brought up is: “Who am I spending my time with, and why?”
According to Manson, people overestimate how cruel people are based on experiences with one or two mean people. I would say as humans, this is very true. I agreed when Manson spoke of how unhealthy relationships, whether it is with one person or more, can shape an individual’s perspective on assuming everyone in the world is judgmental and cruel.
Birnie and Manson continue to speak about how the youth take meeting so many people for granted and how they don’t realize the importance of building solid social relationships. I do agree with what they say because having solid relationships, even with a few people, can fulfill our lives.
The last and final question brought up in the podcast is: “What have you been working on, and why?”
One of the misconceptions Manson covers is working on something you are passionate about, whether that’s a job, a project, a talent or an interest of yours. He says it’s not about finding something you’re passionate about, it’s about discovering you’re good at something and then becoming passionate about it.
I found this fascinating. I do think we as humans are mistaken in that it takes a while to figure out what we’re passionate about, and while we’re worrying about this, we’re not focusing so much on our talents and interests.
For those who are out there struggling with their health, relationships and passions, this podcast is for them because these questions will help them reflect on themselves and what they can do to improve. This is a podcast everyone should watch and listen to because by asking ourselves these questions, it’ll also help us empathize and help others, which can slowly and surely make society healthier.
5/5 stars
vgiorda1@ramapo.edu
Featured phots courtesy of @markmanson, Facebook
