“Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.”
By Brian McKay
The most valuable lesson in life is letting go. It is far harder than it sounds. Being able to say “fuck it” is truly a skill developed over time.
Fridays might be an easier day to say “fuck it”, but what is the rest of the week like? Believe it or not, a little “fuck it” everyday might be very constructive and also critical to your mental well being.
It isn’t a secret that the world can be complex and unforgiving. Corporations now treat their employees like meat that goes bad in a week. The days of 30 year careers with a nice pension are long past. Zero fucks given is more important than ever before.
It may sound obscene to use this word over and over again, but it truly isn’t. Honestly, it is probably the most flexible word in the English language. In fact, the whole connotation used here is a lesson that has been handed down for over 10,000 years. Yeah, zero fucks were probably given when part of your hunting party got decimated by a woolly mammoth too. They had to be or you were screwed when the next hunt started. Consider it a survival mechanism.
Two of the greatest philosophies you might never have studied are Taoism and Buddhism. Surely they connote some Asian thing you weren’t taught in school, but in all honesty, they are both pretty fucking awesome. If anything they reflect that 3000 years ago Asians were far ahead of Westerners in giving zero fucks. So that Western Civ class in college? Yeah that was all about ego because we hate admitting that we gave way too many fucks back then.
Giving zero fucks is crucial to your creativity and sanity in modern society. It frees you and allows you morph yourself into new forms of thought. Yeah… zenruption is all about new forms of thought. Zero fucks can make the world turn and keep you sane among the turmoil.
It’s hard though. Fucking hard.
When was the last time you could honestly say that you truly gave zero fucks? Tough question isn’t it. Buddhist monks spend lifetimes learning to not give a fuck. Most likely, you can never be a master at giving no fucks, but you can integrate the basis of the concept into your life.
Here is how it works. The first thing you care about in life is yourself and the small circle of people you love and care about. Now you need to realize that humanity does a really good job of screwing things up, and then say, “fuck it”. That’s it. You now have released your mind to simplicity and can absorb the complexity of the world around you.
It sounds easy, so why is it so damn hard to say, “zero fucks shall be given”?
No matter what you do, life will always manage to throw a curve ball. We are prone to worry about that stuff. It is inherent in our biology. This is when zero fucks can be the savior.
A true list of zero fucks benefits is as follows
· Zero fucks can allow you to see the world in new ways. It might be as simple as a release that allows you to enjoy the little things. Squirrels running across the yard might become cool again.
· Giving zero fucks can lower your stress level. Sure, you’ll still perform at work, but now you realize that it is just work and you can see new solutions to old problems.
· Creativity is unleashed with zero fucks. When the little things slide off, you are free to focus on new and exciting things. You become a true zenruptor.
· A personal philosophy becomes more obtainable with each zero fuck given. Now that the world is open to you and you see clearly, you can start define how this all related to you.
· Simplicity is definitely the great result of zero fucks. All of a sudden things become clear and all that shit you bought has little meaning unless it contributes to experiences. Zero fucks have just created true elegance in your life. Who thought elegance and fuck could be in the same sentence. Fucking cool.
· Living with zero fucks can make you successful. It is amazing that letting go of worry and ignoring the traditional stupid success quotes (would anyone ever get quoted if all they said was, “fuck it”?) can help you truly achieve, but it works. Try it for a week.
· As you can say, “zero fucks are given” more and more, you will never need another silly self-help book. That alone is worth the cost of admission because those books truly suck.
So the one problem with zero fucks is that it can be hard to truly let go. Practice it a lot. Say that today zero fucks shall be given and repeat every day. A whole new world might open up for you over time.
The more you repeat giving zero fucks, the happier and more successful you’ll be.
Discuss and zenrupt
revision June 17th, 2017: I know that with Trump as President, your ability to not give any fucks is being tested. While science is trying to devise a pill that will make this period eventually go away, please keep trying to give zero fucks. Also, don't look at his twitter account in the mornings. Good fucking luck right?
Feature photo courtesy of Flickr, under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license
Brian McKay is a co-founder of zenruption. He hopes his daughter never reads this article until she is older. Other than that he doesn’t give a fuck.