This post is a review of Everything is f*cked, a book that discusses subjects like:
– Meaning or Why to get out of bed.
– How to become a better person.
– What drives human beings or Why we act the way we do
– How do we develop as humans from childhood to maturity
– What do we have to do to take care of Democracy 😀
– Why Everything is F*cked
(Spoiler alert, through the review I’ll be revealing some of the contents of the book).
Keep reading to get a small peek into each one of the book’s chapters and decide whether this book is for you! Oh and to read my experience and takeaways of course. 🙂
For Amazon summary and checkout you could visit
– Amazon UK
– Amazon US
Chapter 1: The Uncomfortable Truth
Chapter 2: Self-Control Is an Illusion
Chapter 3: Newton’s Laws of Emotion
Chapter 4: How to Make All Your Dreams Come True
Chapter 5: Hope is F*cked
Chapter 6: The Formula of Humanity
Chapter 7: Pain Is the Universal Constant
Chapter 8: The Feelings Economy
Chapter 9: The Final Religion
Choice Process
Let’s pour through my choice process and maybe help you decide whether this book is for you aswell 😉
Liked his other book
The concept of Mark’s previous book The subtle art of not giving a f*ck, has flipped me quite a few times (Got me shaken a bit, I elaborate on that in it’s review) and I liked his writing style.
Sort of trust Mark, Hope is a needed resource
I have recently used his blog to help me pick a book (Indistractable) and already came to trust the guy. Plus, the title of the book, that claims to give you hope, drew me to it, because it takes some hope to continue posting over here, therefor I’d like to reinforce it. 🙂
7-hours long (quite short)
Also the 7-hour length played a role, because I’d like to finish books faster so that I could make more reviews.
Patrick's Decision Process to Reinforce Decision
I then went through Patrick’s decision Process to double check myself
Author – Mark Manson – Successful blogger, who wrote two bestseller books (Subtle art of not giving a f*ck and Everything is f*cked), and I’d like to read more about what successful bloggers think.
Subject – Philosophy, Psychology, Hope – Hope is what attracted me most, though Philosophy and Psychology are subjects that help understand ourselves better and are not bad at all 🙂
Reviews – At Audible most reviews were good, but some were bad. As I already know Mark’s writings – this didn’t deter me. I Also watched a YouTube review.
Credibility of Recomender – None
Part I: Hope
Chapter 1: The uncomfortable truth
There is no meaning, we invent it.
Long story short, in this chapter Mark explains that all that exists, is invented by our own minds, we are all going to die and there is no meaning except the one we draw for ourselves, nothing, not at all, we simply float around, and choose what to believe randomly on impulse, and keep moving toward that thing just to perpetuate the feeling that there is a meaning while really, there is none, and therefor everything is f*cked.
Paradox of Progress
We’re now in the best era to live in objectively. People have the longest lifespan in history, starving rates across the world are at it’s lowest, etc. Despite that fact, mental disease is more common than ever before. What could be the cause?
The 3 Fundamentals of hope, despite the uncomfortable truth
The book’s Idea is to help us cultivate hope nonetheless. Even though hope and everything is f*cked. We need hope for our psychological well-being, and Mark wishes to show us how to maintain it in the three chapters that follow, in which the three things that are required in order to have hope are explained accordingly.
And those are:
1. Self-Control
2. Values
3. Community
Chapter 2: The Illusion of self-control
We like to believe we are completely in control
People have long spoke about us being in control of our feelings and that the more you supress them the more you’re awesome.
CEO’s that sleep under their desks and don’t see their family for 6 weeks, for example, are then hailed, and people say “I told you – just a matter of willpower”.
We want to believe that success is simply a matter of decision and feelings are just side effects that can be thrown aside at a wave of the hand, but it might not be that simple.
Balance between Emotion and Logic
If you completely hate feelings and try to be as reasonable as you can, think again, it might not be the most beneficial way to look at it.
The same goes if you’re completely the other way around and just act according to your emotions.
The truth is a lot more complicated than not listening to our emotions and listening to logic. It is the equilibrium between them that matters, and Mark explains exactly how it matters and what to make of it. I have to admit that I haven’t thought of it that way and all this might come as a surprise to some of you as it did to me.
Chapter 3: Newton's Laws of Emotion
Emo Newton
If there was a parallel world emo Newton who concentrated on researching psychology from within rather than researching the outside world of physics, than he would have written Newton’s three laws of Emotion.
That is exactly what he appears to do inside this book.
A taste of Emo Newton's first law
Newton’s 1st law – For Every Action There’s an equal and opposite emotional reaction
If we get hit in the face we wish to retaliate and hit back either by punch or cursing or calling police.
If we get a house as a gift we want to thank and hug the other person, and give him some popsicle in return.
But what happens if we are unable to equalize the emotion?
Chapter 4: How to Make All Your Dreams Come True
Starting your own religion
Oh woooow, is Mark going to reveal how to make my dreams come true here? Awesoome, I’m excited!
So… How do you make all your dreams come true? By creating a religion.
That’s right, you’ve read correctly. Mark breaks down how to create a religion (Forming communities), and make your followers give you whatever you want, whether that be Money, Land, Virgins or Blood Orgies, you name it.
Mark's intention translated
Basically what Mark tries to Imply is that this is how we choose our community… By following a certain religion, even if you’re an atheist. He explains why we are pulled towards certain communities and why we are pushed from others, and offers us insights on an integral part of our psychology.
We are all a part of some religion, and that is one of the reasons that everything is f*cked just as the book title suggests.
Chapter 5: Hope is f*cked
The sad truth about Hope
Hope is what holds us together, but at the same time what can tear us apart. Hope drives us, but at the same time makes us able to kill each other, such is human nature according to the last chapter.
We killed god
Nietsche claimed that we killed god (By creation of science). Therefor we made more place for Ideological religions like Capitalism, Communism, etc. to fill the void of the spiritual religions. When religions crumble they make psychological instability and wars because new religions come to take their place. Ideological religions have a shorter lifespan than spiritual, and because they have a shorter lifespan, another religion will try to replace it faster, and there will be war faster, and in greater amounts.
Nietsche's Conclusion
Nietsche therefor claimed that we should embrace the nothingness in a Zen sort of way. Nothingness is the simple truth. We are just a part of the world and the world is a part of us. Rather than look for eternal values or religions, we should stick to this understanding and the world might just become a better place.
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Part II: Everything is f*cked
Chapter 6: The Formula of Humanity
A loophole in our nature
This chapter is about the conclusions of the Philosopher Emmanuel Kant, who had found an idea (a loophole) of how to theoretically overcome our urge to fight or kill for our hopes without giving them up supposedly. Even though there is a blunt contradiction here, because mark had said in the previous chapters that our nature is basicly waging war for our values.
The war that wages within
I guess that Kant’s idea is the basis for democracy, and serves to reduce wars, but our nature still makes us (or at least most people) not apply it. Mark tries to explain that the war we should really engage in, is the war to be a better human . The war to ingrain the values of maturity in us. Mark also explains the three stages of human maturity in this chapter.
Chapter 7: Pain is the Universal Constant
“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”
Psychological Growth is Related to Pain.
So in the previous chapter, it is explained that we have the ability to numb our difficult Nature and relief ourselves from the suffering of war. We could do it through maturity principles, and those appear to have everything to do with pain.
Consequences of Engaging vs. Avoiding Pain
The more we are capable to choose our pains – the less we will get irritated by small discomforts. When we’re able to choose our pains, we choose what we want to get out of life, and therefor make it meaningful.
The more we immerse ourselves in pain, the more we will be able to exert self – control, and implement our values.
But, if we avoid pain and numb it, we make our life meaningless as we can’t progress and grow towards our destinies or choices.
If we chase happiness or as some call it – Joy, and Numb pain, we will lose meaning, stop growing, and become fragile.
Chapter 8: The feelings economy
Marketing revolution brought distraction products.
In the 1920’s began the marketing revolution which lead to the culture of purchasing with feelings, it had started producing lots of products the purpose of which was distraction from problems. I.e. Movies, Sports, TV.
Beware of the perpetuation of postponing your problems
While there is nothing inherently wrong with using those kind of products, there is great danger in them, because many people use them at first to avoid a problem. Then, the problem grows, and when they stop using the product, they face the problem again. But, this time it is bigger because of neglect. This leads them to return to the product in a snowball effect, making it harder and harder to return back on track. The bigger the amount of people who indulge in this repetitive circle, the more danger it presents to democracy. See how by getting the book 🙂
Chapter 9: The Final Religion
According to mark, evolution is the evolvement of information processing. The better an organism processes information, the longer it survives.
We have been the best information processing algorithms that nature developed so far. But AI is advancing at an awesome speed, and we may not compete with it. AI are not
subjected to a nature of waging wars like we are, it’s information processing is outstanding, and might be impossible for us to understand.
AI might just take control of society, and most probably will, according to Mark. But, it will not necessarily occur in a Terminator 2 judgement day style or Matrix :). They might treat us well and find a higher purpose for us and we may actually want this to happen for the advancement of mankind, as it could get the best out of us.
My experience
A Philosophy book with touches of self-improvement.
Despite the fact that he says that there is no absolute truth, and there is no hope, because Everything is f*cked.
Mark does try to present a framework by which we will be able to Improve, and that makes a part of the book a book about self- improvement, and I like books that help us improve 🙂
Puts Maturity in a different light
I now understand a little bit better the development of kids, as the principles presented here about maturing are different than in the last book I’ve listened to – Indistractable.
We could be more mature, we could protect democracy by showing an example of maturity and unconditional values.
Could use a little more clarification
In general the book is made to make you think, that is the point of philosophy. I guess it wasn’t meant to give you straight forward answers, and Mark clearly says so.
I guess that the principles he explains are sound and are the result of a lot of research on the subject. But, I think that it requires more practical explanations, so that we would be able to understand how to Imply it in our lives, even though it’s a philosophy book.
It might of course be that there simply are dots that I did not yet connect.
But if I didn’t connect them then probably there would be others for whom it will be difficult too.
But on the bright side, he does make the brain’s mechanisms turn in an attempt to understand the depths of the content.
My takeaways
1. The emotional brain is in control
We have two brains. A thinking brain, and a feeling brain. The feeling brain is in control of our actions no matter how much we would like to believe it to be the other way around. If we wish to put our thinking brain in alignment with the feeling brain we must make sure we understand the feeling brain’s signals first. Only after we understand it, we may try to explain to it why we should do the actions we want to do. We should do it in the language of emotions, the “now” language.
It is very bad for our productivity to try to silence either of the brains.
2. My godvalue and what I should probably not do for it
We all buy into certain values, and therefor we all tend to judge others and our life situations by our values. My current God Value* is Money, as shallow as it might sound. But I must make sure that god values don’t turn people into means*, whether it is myself or others.
3.My religious movement
I am a part of a certain Religious movement as all of us, mine is Self – Improvement and therefor there is usually negative magnetic pull when I see people who are Irresponsible or are stagnant. I guess that Mark is a part of that religious movement too.
4. A little pat on the back and a push forward
I got a reaffirmation of my view that work/pain is the only way toward growth, and that the greatest thing we can do as humans is engage in the work/pain of growth. It helps our environment and development of human kind and lives.
Also, it helps our psychological health, and therefor makes one more functioning human in society that would support democracy. Although there still is no real meaning to our existence, but that is arguably the best we can do.
Terms
*God Value
The value through which we analyze everything else. Everything we do is for that value, and every other value could be sacrificed for that value, we all have it in general, although it might change from situation to situation.
*Treating people as means
If you want to achieve something, whether it would be for the sake of the god value of Joy, Money, God or Love you should not use people to do it.
Meaning you shouldn’t try to manipulate people in a certain way just because you want to achieve that thing. For example it is wrong to try to make your wife happy because you want sex, but it is okay to want to make your wife happy by having sex.
It is wrong to write book reviews in order to make people buy books, as long as that is the only reason you do it. But it is okay to write book reviews because you like it or because it helps people, and get paid for it on top, at least that’s how I interpret that meaning.
Conclusion
Everything is F*cked is a book that is full of philosophical quotes of great Philosophers, discussions about meaning, and human psychology. It is a book that requires you to be ready for the principles not to be so easily conveyed.
Mark does not explain exactly how every chapter is to be applied in life, rather he puts out the facts and leaves you to make of the book whatever you choose, so it’s kind of an open meaning book.
It is difficult to say how much it helped me, but I can say that it indeed pump me with some motivation amidst all the confusion. I think that It might be extremely helpful for a person who generally procrastinates or feels like he does not follow his values and wants a different perspective on it. But be ready for a change in your Identity in that case, as hard as it may be.
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