Mark Manson

If we're unwilling to fail, then we're unwilling to succeed.

Improvement at anything is based on thousands of tiny failures, and the magnitude of your success is based on how many times you__e failed at something. If someone is better than you at something, then it__ likely because she has failed at it more than you have. If someone is worse than you, it__ likely because he hasn__ been through all of the painful learning experiences you have.

Because when you give too many fucks__hen you give a fuck about everyone and everything__ou will feel that you__e perpetually entitled to be comfortable and happy at all times, that everything is supposed to be just exactly the fucking way you want it to be. This is a sickness. And it will eat you alive. You will see every adversity as an injustice, every challenge as a failure, every inconvenience as a personal slight, every disagreement as a betrayal.

At some point, most of us reach a place where we__e afraid to fail, where we instinctively avoid failure and stick only to what is placed in front of us or only what we__e already good at.This confines us and stifles us. We can be truly successful only at something we__e willing to fail at. If we__e unwilling to fail, then we__e unwilling to succeed.

No truly happy person feels the need to stand in front of a mirror and recite that she's happy. She just is.

Life is essentially an endless series of problems. The solution to one problem is merely the creation of another.

And while there's nothing wrong with good business, the problem is that giving too many fucks is bad for your mental health. It causes you to become overly attached to the superficial and fake, to dedicate your life to chasing a mirage of happiness and satisfaction. The key to a good life is not giving a fuck about more; it's giving a fuck about less, giving a fuck about only what is true and immediate and important.

In my life, I have given a fuck about many people and many things. I have also not given a fuck about many people and many things. And like the road not taken, it was the fucks not given that made all the difference.

This entitlement plays out in one of two ways:1.___I__ awesome and the rest of you all suck, so I deserve special treatment.2.___I suck and the rest of you are all awesome, so I deserve special treatment.Opposite mindset on the outside, but the same selfish creamy core in the middle.

Much of the self-help world is predicated on peddling highs to people rather than solving legitimate problems. Many self-help gurus teach you new forms of denial and pump you up with exercises that feel good in the short term, while ignoring the underlying issue. Remember, nobody who is actually happy has to stand in front of a mirror and tell himself that he__ happy.

The person you marry is the person you fight with. The house you buy is the house you repair. The dream job you take is the job you stress over. Everything comes with an inherent sacrifice__hatever makes us feel good will also inevitably make us feel bad. What we gain is also what we lose. What creates our positive experiences will define our negative experiences.

Despite dreaming about making a living through his art, the real potential of becoming An Artist Nobody Likes was far, far scarier than remaining An Artist Nobody__ Heard Of. At least he was comfortable with and used to being An Artist Nobody__ Heard Of.

Being wrong opens us up to the possibility of change. Being wrong brings the opportunity for growth.

If you think you can kiss her, you probably could have ten minutes ago.

We don__ actually know what a positive or negative experience is. Some of the most difficult and stressful moments of our lives also end up being the most formative and motivating. Some of the best and most gratifying experiences of our lives are also the most distracting and demotivating. Don__ trust your conception of positive/negative experiences. All that we know for certain is what hurts in the moment and what doesn__. And that__ not worth much.

Because when we give too many fucks, when we choose to give a fuck about everything, then we feel as though we are perpetually entitled to feel comfortable and happy at all times, that__ when life fucks us.

When the standard of success becomes merely acting__hen any result is regarded as progress and important, when inspiration is seen as a reward rather than a prerequisite__e propel ourselves ahead. We feel free to fail, and that failure moves us forward.

Indifferent people are afraid of the world and the repercussions of their own choices. That__ why they don__ make any meaningful choices. They hide in a gray, emotionless pit of their own making, self-absorbed and self-pitying, perpetually distracting themselves from this unfortunate thing demanding their time and energy called life.