It’s time to stop giving a sh*t!

Be calm… Stop stressing… Embrace the universe… Try yoga… Be fulfilled… and that’s an order! We’re overwhelmed with these sorts of commands, and we often torture ourselves to “try harder,” yet somehow we never feel we’ve done quite enough. It’s about time we stop pushing ourselves to do what we think we’re supposed to do, and instead simply allow ourselves to be angry, be tired, be silly, be passionate–to stop giving a shit, and just be.

An international bestseller (now in English for the first time), The French Art of Not Giving a Sh*t by Fabrice Midal explains why the key to true mindfulness is freeing ourselves from social and often self-imposed stresses — and highlights how we can embrace life more fully by giving ourselves a break. He gives readers permission to:

Stop obeying — you are intelligent
Stop being calm — be at peace
Stop wanting to be perfect — accept life’s storms
Stop rationalizing — let things be
Stop comparing — be you
Stop being ashamed — be vulnerable
Stop tormenting yourself — become your own best friend
Stop wanting to love — be benevolent

One of the world’s leading teachers of meditation and mindfulness, Midal offers us a new solution to the perennial problem of our too-much, too-fast modern life. It’s OK, he urges us, to say no. It’s fine to quit the things that don’t fulfill you. It’s necessary, in fact, to give ourselves a break and say, simply, c’est la vie. In The French Art of Not Giving a Sh*t, Midal gives each of us permission to stop doing the things that don’t make us happy … so we have room in our lives for the things that do.

French philosophy and meditation expert Fabrice Midal’s The Three-Minute Philosopher includes forty brief essays for tapping into a deeper understanding of your existence, with experiences that will transform, enlighten, and invite you to see the world in a new way.

Philosophy takes us by surprise. It challenges us, awakens us, and opens our minds. It does not tell us to be “wise” or to be a perfect being, but instead to nurture our own humanity. Philosophical thinking is the antithesis of the rampant dogmatism that dominates so much public discussion, of the vehemently expressed opinions of those who think they know everything and who insist you agree with them. Self-proclaimed experts tell us to listen to and obey their injunctions, but philosophers encourage us to think for ourselves. After all, philosophy addresses what makes us human and helps us navigate everyday life, from dealing with that annoying colleague at work, to the panic of realizing that your fridge is empty when guests arrive out of the blue.

Fabrice Midal teaches the power of trusting in our own thoughts and strengthening our connection to humanity, as he guides us through the inspirational ideas of forty writers, artists, thinkers, and seers from Baudelaire to Nietzsche, Emily Dickinson to Toni Morrison, Pablo Picasso to James Baldwin, and of course, Socrates to Aristotle. Simple, smart, and approachable, Midal’s three-minute essays ask us to step back, reflect, and meditate, and encourage us to think about the world a little differently.