Self Help

Background

12 Rules for Life started when Dr. Jordan Peterson (a clinical psychologist and a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto) answered this question on Quora, “What are the most valuable things everyone should know?” His first answer spanned 40 lines. He had since distilled it to 12 and described each in this book. His answers are below.

1. Stand up straight with your shoulders back
2. Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping
3. Make friends with people who want the best for you
4. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today
5. Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them
6. Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world
7. Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)
8. Tell the truth – or, at least, don’t lie
9. Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t
10. Be precise in your speech
11. Do not bother children when they are skateboarding
12. Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street

My Thoughts

I follow Dr. Peterson’s podcast and have been watching his work over the last 6 months. I can see why some folks bristle at his advice and why he rubs some the wrong way. However, I am deeply sympathetic to the ideas he puts forth. I like the list he put together and I like the rationalization behind it even better. It’s not a bad place to start and I wish I could keep the tenets of the list everyday of my life.

My Recommendation

Very dense subject matter and the content requires a lot of supporting information. I really enjoyed it and I believe anyone will as well.

Background

This book is another volume of work on the subject of the psychology of happiness. It deals with specifically the happiness trajectory over the lifetime and makes particular mention of a statistical “curve” during what we may call “midlife”.

Comments

I am in the bottom of the “U Curve” (as the author puts it), meaning that I am statistically in the unhappiest part of human life, my 40s. Interesting really. I’ve considered my forties to be a great time so far. However Mr. Rauch makes a particular point to say this curve is an average and isn’t predictive. I did enjoy the book and found comfort in many of the concepts presented. For example, I have had an increasing unrest in my career. Mr. Rauch’s concept of the Hedonic Treadmill rang pretty true for me. I am reminded to be accepting of where I am and find enjoyment in the here and now. Those are great words and I hope to be able to hold to them. The thought of my not being alone in this regard is comforting.

Recommendation

I would recommend the book to other folks in my age group. Although Mr. Rauch paints the picture if everyone understood the happiness of aging we would have a better world in which to live, a well trod path for second careers and much better understanding of the elderly, I believe it will take some time till this dream is realized if the theory bears out. I’m not sure those younger than I would enjoy the book.