Mark Manson Quotes

Our crises of hope often start with a basic sense that we do not have control over ourselves or our destiny.

To become truly great at something, you have to dedicate shit-tons of time and energy to it. […] The rare people who do become truly exceptional at something do so […] because they're obsessed with improvement.

Your relationships aren’t random. They’re emotional remixes of your childhood.

But once you notice the same old melodies, you can stop auditioning for roles that keep breaking your fucking heart.

Happiness is a constant work-in-progress, because solving problems is a constant work-in-progress.

I think your mind is so open your brain fell out!”10

When we have poor values — that is, poor standards we set for ourselves and others — we are essentially giving fucks about the things that don’t matter, things that in fact make our life worse. But when we choose better values, we are able to divert our fucks to something better — toward things that matter, things that improve the state of our well-being and that generate happiness, pleasure, and success as side effects.

We’ve all wished at times that we couldn’t feel emotion, because our emotions often drive us to do stupid shit we later regret.

For individuals to feel justified in doing horrible things to other people, they must feel an unwavering certainty in their own righteousness, in their own beliefs and deservedness. ...Evil people never believe that they are evil, rather, they believe that everyone else is evil.

With great responsibility comes great power.

The only morning routine you need: Have something in your life that’s so exciting, you can’t wait to wake up and get out of bed.

Remember that in order to feel hope, we need to feel there's a better future out there (values); we need to feel as though we are capable of getting to that better future (self-control); and we need to find other people who share our values and support our efforts (community).

Don't hope for a life without problems," the [Disappointment Panda] said. "There's no such thing. Instead, hope for a life full of good problems.

Now think of it this way: You exist. You didn’t do anything to deserve existing. You don’t even know why you started existing; you just did. Boom — you have a life. And you have no idea where it came from or why. If you believe God gave it to you, then, holy shit! Do you owe Him big time! But even if you don’t believe in God — damn, you’re blessed with life! What did you ever do to deserve that? How can you live in such a way as to make your life worthwhile? This is the constant, yet unanswerable question of the human condition, and why the inherent guilt of consciousness is the cornerstone of almost every spiritual religion.

To not give a fuck about adversity, you must first give a fuck about something more important than adversity.

Life is about not knowing and then doing something anyway. All of life is like this. It never changes. Even when you’re happy. Even when you’re farting fairy dust. Even when you win the lottery and buy a small fleet of Jet Skis, you still won’t know what the hell you’re doing. Don’t ever forget that. And don’t ever be afraid of that.