The Best of Mark Manson
20+ most popular Mark Manson articles, as voted by our community.
3x #1 NYTimes bestselling author. Best known for F-Bombs and uncomfortable truths. Giving life advice that doesn't suck since 2008.
Mark Manson on Attention Economy
The Attention Diet
Distractions have become so pervasive in the digital age that we've come to accept them as normal. Here's how we can escape their grip and free our minds a little.
Mark Manson on Better Living
Why Things Are Never as Bad as They Seem
Things are rarely as bad—or as good—as you think they are. The goal is not to get too attached to lopsided thinking in one direction or the other.
«good things, while good, rarely affect permanent change in one’s self or in the world, and similarly, bad things, while bad, rarely doom us to a life of misery or failure.»
What in the World Are You Doing?
New Years is typically the time for new goals and resolutions. But there is something far more important you should focus on.
«I’ve always refrained from shitting on New Year’s resolutions because I do believe there is something psychologically significant about year changes. We divide our lives into years, conceptualize our identities in years, so it makes sense that a turning of the year will coincide with some introspection and realignment of one’s values»
Mark Manson on Logic
8 Logical Fallacies that Mess Us All Up
Logical fallacies are incredibly common in our everyday lives. Here are some of the worst ones we all fall prey to.
Mark Manson on Productivity
The Backwards Law—Why the Best Things in Life Must Be Let Go
Trying too hard to get what you want in life—like love, respect, and happiness—often has the opposite effect: you end up lonely, dejected, and miserable. Here's why.
«desiring a positive experience is itself a negative experience; accepting a negative experience is a positive experience.»
When You Are Your Own Worst Enemy
What a simple and profound thought about the nature of boredom and self-awareness can teach us about ourselves
«Self-consciousness makes us more insecure and anxious because it attempts to hold our inner life to some arbitrary standard created by our outer»
Mark Manson on Psychology
Happiness Is the Wrong Question
Happiness is not the point. And if you make it the point, then you’re not going to be happy.
«The problem with focusing on enhancing happiness is very similar to the problem with wanting to eliminate sadness or anxiety.»
An Unconventional Guide to Happiness
There are some counterintuitive, paradoxical ways you can reach a truly new level of contentment and peace in your life.
«So in terms of being happy, trying to be happy only highlights all the ways that you’re unhappy. On the other hand, accepting that life is full of unhappy moments allows you to accept them as they are and appreciate the happy moments more when they come along.»
Mark Manson on Relationships
You Are (Not) Alone
Loneliness is low-key the root of so many of the mental health and social welfare issues today, yet nobody seems to know how to talk about…
Why We Forget That Most People Are Good
It seems everyone thinks the world is full of terrible people. But in fact people are mostly good, even if we all have the capacity to be shitty to one another sometimes.
«researchers found that most of these online conflicts were not fought by those who started them. They were fought by the innocent bystanders»
Mark Manson on Self Discipline
If Self-Discipline Feels Difficult, Then You're Doing It Wrong
Many equate self-discipline with living a good, moral life, which ends up creating a lot of shame when we fail. There's a better way to build lasting, solid self-discipline in your life.
Mark Manson on Self Help
5 Tenets of a Negative Self-Help
Look, I know what you want to hear. I know you want to hear that everything is going to be alright—no, better than alright, that it's going to be fucking amazeballs. I know you want to hear that the…
How to Build Self-Esteem (And Does it Even Matter?)
Chock-full of goofy and irreverent metaphors, this post from self-help author Mark Manson is a fun read. Don't let the irreverent tone fool you - Manson has sharp insights into what self-esteem is, why it has such a hold on the popular imagination, and why that hold is perhaps misplaced. His casual style, and adult language might not appeal to everyone, but it's certainly not boring. He helpfully includes footnotes to deeper reads if you're interested in a more in-depth approach and provides essential tips for cultivating a healthy sense of self-appreciation.
Mark Manson on Trust
How Trust Runs the World
Learn how trust, institutions, and crypto have everything to do with each other, and are incredibly relevant to the world we live in today.
Why You Can’t Trust Yourself
Eight reasons why you can’t trust yourself, as demonstrated by psychology.
Popular
These are some all-time favorites with Refind users.
Life Is What Happens While You’re Making Other Plans
The most seductive forms of procrastination
«Procrastination is merely the avoidance of unpleasant emotions. Get comfortable with unpleasant emotions and the issue of procrastination takes care of itself.»
3 Tips to Read More Books
How to remember what you've read, read faster, and read more books
7 Strange Questions That Help You Find Your Life Purpose
No clue what you want to do with your life? Here are some crazy and thought-provoking questions to help you out.
How to Wage Philosophical Warfare
You’ve probably heard the words “modernism” and “postmodernism” before.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck
Most of us struggle throughout our lives by giving too many fucks in situations where fucks do not deserve to be given.
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