Self-Improvement
by Jordan B. Peterson
How do you bear a hard life?
Jordan Peterson, a Canadian clinical psychologist, starts from a bleak premise. Life involves suffering, and nobody escapes it. His twelve rules are his answer to how to bear it well, by shouldering responsibility and steering between order and chaos. The subtitle calls them an antidote to chaos.
Hear a sample · read by Laura
Rule 1 is to stand up straight with your shoulders back. Peterson describes how a lobster that loses fights has lower serotonin and a hunched posture, while a winner stands tall. He argues humans carry similar dominance hierarchies, and that posture reflects and shapes how you feel and are treated.
Peterson notes people are more likely to give their pets prescribed medicine properly than to take their own. Rule 2 asks why we care for others better than ourselves. Treat yourself like someone you're responsible for helping, and ask what's good for you, which isn't always what you want.
There's always someone better at something. Rule 4 is to compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today. Peterson suggests aiming small. Ask what you could do, that you would actually do, to make one thing a little better, and do that.
Rule 7 is to pursue what is meaningful, not what is expedient. Expedience is whatever gets you out of trouble right now. Peterson argues for the opposite, making sacrifices today for a better future. That, he says, is where meaning comes from, and meaning is what makes suffering bearable.
Posture
Losing lobsters slump and winners stand tall. How you hold your body feeds how you feel, so stand upright.
Self-care
People often look after a sick pet better than they look after themselves. Give yourself that same care.
Friends
Keep friends who want you to do well. The ones who drag you down are doing you no favours.
Yesterday
Stop ranking yourself against other people. Aim to be a little better than you were last week.
Your own house
Before blaming the world for its mess, deal with the mess in your own life.
A story from the book
Peterson's daughter, Mikhaila, had severe arthritis as a child and needed hip and ankle replacements. In the worst stretches, he writes, you narrow your focus to the next day, or the next hour. Rule 12 asks you to notice small good things even then, like stroking a passing cat.
One thing to try
Rule 6 is to set your house in perfect order before you criticise the world. Peterson suggests starting small. This week, pick one thing in your life you know is wrong, a debt you've ignored or an apology you owe, and put it right before complaining about anything bigger.
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. 12 Rules for Life comes with a Your Move story to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appHow do you bear a hard life? Jordan Peterson, a Canadian clinical psychologist, starts from a bleak premise. Life involves suffering, and nobody escapes it. His twelve rules are his answer to how to bear it well, by shouldering responsibility and steering between order and chaos. The subtitle calls them an antidote to chaos.
Rule 1 starts with lobsters; Look after yourself properly; Compare with yesterday's you; Meaning over expedience.
Rule 6 is to set your house in perfect order before you criticise the world. Peterson suggests starting small. This week, pick one thing in your life you know is wrong, a debt you've ignored or an apology you owe, and put it right before complaining about anything bigger.
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from 12 Rules for Life in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Your Move story to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
