Why You Will Always Have Critics

18 people had breakthroughs this week. Will the next one be you?

Two things for you to think about

It’s impossible to be a life-changing presence to some without being a total joke to others. Criticism is proportional to impact.

People will criticize you for your successes. They will criticize you for your failures. They will criticize you for acting. They will criticize you for not acting.

Fuck the haters. Do the thing.

Three things for you to ask yourself

What impact do you want to have? Are you letting your fear of criticism stop you? Why do you care so much?

One thing for you to try this week

Do one impactful thing this week. Let me know what outrage ensues.

New This Week

Podcast: The Hard Truth About Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll (ft. Randy Blythe)

Life in a rock band isn’t all sold-out shows and backstage parties—it’s a high-pressure, all-consuming commitment that tests friendships, sanity, and survival. In this latest podcast episode, I sit down with Randy Blythe, legendary frontman of Lamb of God, to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to last in the music industry. From the brutal realities of band relationships to the myths of the rockstar lifestyle, Randy shares unfiltered insights on creativity, addiction, and personal transformation.

We also dig into his journey to sobriety, the impact of punk rock’s DIY ethos, and the surprising ways today’s generation is redefining rebellion. Whether you’re a musician, a fan, or just someone navigating your own challenges, this conversation is a raw and inspiring look at resilience, reinvention, and the power of staying true to yourself. Check it out.

Last week’s breakthroughs

In last week’s newsletter, I asked you to let go of a lie you’ve been telling yourself. This hit close to home for Jason:

Your email this week hit on the topic I’ve been grappling with for decades. Graduating high school, I took what many would consider the ‘safe route’ and ignored the things I was passionate about and felt I was decent at. I told myself I could always come back to it and do it as a side business or even someday transition careers after I’ve saved enough for retirement and paid off my debts. As the years went on I continued to keep this mindset, always viewing my interest as a potential business opportunity, or my way out of the career I chose that has never been satisfying to me. I’ve spent a lot of money over the last two decades on courses, hardware, software, always keeping up to date with programs, and/or any other new trend in the industry I always envisioned myself going into. I’ve told myself I need to stay serious about it if it will ever happen.

Then I got married and had kids. Priorities changed and finances had to be focused on other areas. New responsibilities took over and the idea of changing careers while my kids are still at home seemed less and less possible. Over the last three years it started to occur to me that it may never happen.

Your email about lying to yourself hit me square in the jaw. I’ve spent so much time, energy, and money on something that I honestly never took seriously enough to make that leap. All the while I’ve had a toxic relationship with my dream, always viewing it as my way out instead of using it as a tool to keep me grounded and present. I had a false sense of perfectionism whenever I would sit down with it, and it would leave me frustrated. I never accepted that it could be a hobby, a way for me to escape the stressors and pressures of life, of the day-to-day business that I didn’t always enjoy. Instead I would lie to myself every time I thought about my interest, reliving my youth and never letting go of it.

I had an overwhelming feeling of finally being able to accept it for what it truly is. A lie I tell myself over and over again. I feel more at peace with the idea of never making that transition. It may very well never become anything more than a hobby, and maybe that’s exactly what it needs to be, and probably what it always should have been.

Letting go of one lie helped Katie become a new person:

I actually discovered a lie last week, it was along the lines of I’m so tired that I can’t get out of bed early. I allowed my wake-up time to be set by my two pre-school boys and would roll unwillingly, moodily, groggily out of bed when they woke up, immediately having to deal with their hunger demands and morning moods. Things were tense, angry snappy mum could be around all day and late into the night.

Since my mood tends to set the tone for the whole household we were all a little grumpy and short with each other, me not wanting to engage in the games the kids wanted to play and them not wanting to do anything I’d ask. I decided one day to get up at 5 A.M. and managed to get nearly three whole hours for myself before anyone else got up, it was magical, I was a different person. They became different little people. And I’ve noticed a shift in our whole household over the past two weeks as I’ve continued it.

It’s so simple: go to bed early, wake up early. Take the time for myself at the beginning of the day rather than hoping I might get some at the end of it (I never did). I actually look forward to getting up each day! I’m getting work done, I’m exercising, the dog gets a walk, I get to see the sunrise, maybe I’m even just watching a movie—it doesn’t matter, it’s a slice of my day that’s solely for me.

To end, a reader with a recent break-up is finally acknowledging the truth:

I’ve been telling myself and my therapist for a long time now that I’m fine, I’m doing well, I’m good at being on my own. And whilst in the past this has been true, three months post break-up, I realize that I am lonely, not just alone. That I miss having companionship and connection and silly little in-jokes and that my aliveness and exploration have tanked.

It feels very vulnerable and raw to be this honest that I’m missing something and that I feel like an island.

You’re right that true growth is acknowledging this, honoring the feelings of grief and isolation, yet reaching out to friends and formulating a plan to cultivate a stronger platonic social circle, rather than romance-based.

As always, send your breakthroughs by simply replying to this email. Let me know if you’d prefer to remain anonymous.

Until next week,

Mark Manson

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author
My Website – My Books – My YouTube Channel – My Podcast