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Don't Do Stuff You Hate
Forward by T.K. Coleman.
When it comes to improving your life you're probably making it harder than it has to be. Stop focusing on what you want, what you love, what your calling or passion is. Start focusing on what you hate, what makes you bored, what's draining your sense of excitement. The best way to a life you love is don't do stuff you hate.
This book combines essays and insights from two authors who have put this philosophy into practice. It's a scattershot of ideas and practices for shedding the web of negative obligations, activities, and emotions so you can begin to build something better in its place.
When it comes to improving your life you're probably making it harder than it has to be. Stop focusing on what you want, what you love, what your calling or passion is. Start focusing on what you hate, what makes you bored, what's draining your sense of excitement. The best way to a life you love is don't do stuff you hate.
This book combines essays and insights from two authors who have put this philosophy into practice. It's a scattershot of ideas and practices for shedding the web of negative obligations, activities, and emotions so you can begin to build something better in its place.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 17, 2016
37 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 1, 2019
Great book to help break free
This book has some common sense ideas in it, but the biggest of these is to help a person figure out what they do not like and then to work at the things that give you happiness and worth. It is also key to note that a person can be working at some job that isn't enjoyable, but still gives great satisfaction in new skills or other metrics that are not always tied to money. You don't have to be normal and stay in some job or situation just because everyone else is.
This book has some common sense ideas in it, but the biggest of these is to help a person figure out what they do not like and then to work at the things that give you happiness and worth. It is also key to note that a person can be working at some job that isn't enjoyable, but still gives great satisfaction in new skills or other metrics that are not always tied to money. You don't have to be normal and stay in some job or situation just because everyone else is.
April 21, 2018
Great read
Really good read and it offers a vast amount of perspective as to what meaningful life is. I fully recommend this book for anyone who wants some perspective or feels stuck where they are. It does get better if you want it to be.
Really good read and it offers a vast amount of perspective as to what meaningful life is. I fully recommend this book for anyone who wants some perspective or feels stuck where they are. It does get better if you want it to be.
December 31, 2022
A collection of articles. It contains good ideas: responsibility for self, keeping an open mind, hard work...
I would lend it to my younger siblings and friends.
It seems like a good reflection exercise by the authors.
I would lend it to my younger siblings and friends.
It seems like a good reflection exercise by the authors.
November 28, 2018
I didn’t follow a few articles because they didn’t give a lot of context and used a lot of metaphors, but for the the most part it was solid advice repeated in many different ways.
November 12, 2022
5th five
August 25, 2016
Not doing stuff you hate doesn't involve logic or pros vs cons lists. Deciding what you love and hate comes from the gut. You have to get out of your own head, sit down and quietly ask yourself, "Do I want to do this or not?" Imagine what it feels like to say no. Imagine what it feels like to say yes. What do you want, regardless of what's "sensible"?
Don't Do Stuff You Hate is a collection of short essays (roughly 1-5 pages each) all centered around, well, not doing stuff you hate. It is excellent for reading while riding the bus, standing in line, and waiting around in government offices. Got 5-10 minutes? Just open it up and read a chapter or two. Likewise, you can skip around as much as you want. I loved the book for its valuable insights on what makes life meaningful, what it means to do things against the current of social convention, and how to craft a happy life for yourself.
Morehouse and Earl emphasize the importance of "NOW" decision making. If there's some aspect of your life that you hate right now, your task is to find a way to remove it from your life. It doesn't matter how removing this soul-sucking activity will affect your distant, fuzzy ideal of a future utopia. You've got a concrete problem right now. So solve it. "Stop aiming for goals. Start clearing the path ahead of you, instead."
It's all about balance. Discomfort is inevitable. The question that you should be asking yourself is how much discomfort is worth it? How certain are you that you have to be suffering right now to achieve your goals? Maybe you should do some reassessment - of both your goals and your trajectory to achieving your goals.
What I got out of this book:
One of my favorite takeaways: "Don't try to pick an industry [to work in]. Just do interesting stuff." We all frequently get caught up in trying to categorize and plan everything. I need to pick a title or label NOW so that people know who I am and what I do, right? Wrong. You just do you. Do what you love. Do what makes you happy. Do what feels right in the moment. The labels and titles and categories will sort themselves out.
I also really liked the chapter "Hanging Out with People Your Age is Overrated". People a lot older and younger than me have different experiences and values that I can learn a lot from. I'm happy that that's been brought to my attention so I can be more active about reaching outside my peer group for friends.
Who should read this book:
Are you unhappy with any aspect of your life? Do you feel "stuck"? Read this book. I also highly recommend this book to every student and young professional. It provides a really different perspective on how to craft a happy life for yourself. While a lot of people encourage you to "quit complaining and suck it up if you want to succeed", Morehouse and Earl tell you to reassess both your definition of success (that ideal future you have mapped out) and your pathways to success.
Questions we should ask ourselves daily:
"1. Do I like what I'm doing?
2. Is it getting me somewhere I want to go?
3. What am I giving up to be here?"
Don't Do Stuff You Hate is a collection of short essays (roughly 1-5 pages each) all centered around, well, not doing stuff you hate. It is excellent for reading while riding the bus, standing in line, and waiting around in government offices. Got 5-10 minutes? Just open it up and read a chapter or two. Likewise, you can skip around as much as you want. I loved the book for its valuable insights on what makes life meaningful, what it means to do things against the current of social convention, and how to craft a happy life for yourself.
Morehouse and Earl emphasize the importance of "NOW" decision making. If there's some aspect of your life that you hate right now, your task is to find a way to remove it from your life. It doesn't matter how removing this soul-sucking activity will affect your distant, fuzzy ideal of a future utopia. You've got a concrete problem right now. So solve it. "Stop aiming for goals. Start clearing the path ahead of you, instead."
It's all about balance. Discomfort is inevitable. The question that you should be asking yourself is how much discomfort is worth it? How certain are you that you have to be suffering right now to achieve your goals? Maybe you should do some reassessment - of both your goals and your trajectory to achieving your goals.
What I got out of this book:
One of my favorite takeaways: "Don't try to pick an industry [to work in]. Just do interesting stuff." We all frequently get caught up in trying to categorize and plan everything. I need to pick a title or label NOW so that people know who I am and what I do, right? Wrong. You just do you. Do what you love. Do what makes you happy. Do what feels right in the moment. The labels and titles and categories will sort themselves out.
I also really liked the chapter "Hanging Out with People Your Age is Overrated". People a lot older and younger than me have different experiences and values that I can learn a lot from. I'm happy that that's been brought to my attention so I can be more active about reaching outside my peer group for friends.
Who should read this book:
Are you unhappy with any aspect of your life? Do you feel "stuck"? Read this book. I also highly recommend this book to every student and young professional. It provides a really different perspective on how to craft a happy life for yourself. While a lot of people encourage you to "quit complaining and suck it up if you want to succeed", Morehouse and Earl tell you to reassess both your definition of success (that ideal future you have mapped out) and your pathways to success.
Questions we should ask ourselves daily:
"1. Do I like what I'm doing?
2. Is it getting me somewhere I want to go?
3. What am I giving up to be here?"
December 28, 2022
Very solid advice that helps reframe the way you think about a “bad” situation. Almost like a modernized version of “Meditations”.
There are some shortcomings that seem to stem from the books being self-published. Lots of homonyms that a spell check doesn’t catch, and some odd phrases that tip off the reader that this is at least partially a collection of previously-published blog posts. There’s also a very consistent theme of C. S. Lewis throughout the book. Nothing wrong with that, but it comes up quite a bit.
All things considered, I really appreciate the message and it I’ve started to apply it to my life to some benefit. Somewhat worth a read.
There are some shortcomings that seem to stem from the books being self-published. Lots of homonyms that a spell check doesn’t catch, and some odd phrases that tip off the reader that this is at least partially a collection of previously-published blog posts. There’s also a very consistent theme of C. S. Lewis throughout the book. Nothing wrong with that, but it comes up quite a bit.
All things considered, I really appreciate the message and it I’ve started to apply it to my life to some benefit. Somewhat worth a read.
August 6, 2022
I did not hate this book.
Lots of thought provoking analysis of everyday life. A good read for anyone who wants to start something new in their own life.
Lots of thought provoking analysis of everyday life. A good read for anyone who wants to start something new in their own life.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews