Saturday, April 17, 2021

Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson

 Last weekend I finished Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson. This was a much anticipated book for me as I have been a big fan of Jordan's talks after reading his earlier book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. I have not been able to make up my mind which book I liked more and have given 5 stars to both in my goodreads reviews. Unlike traditional self-help writers, the writing style of Jordan is distinct as combination of scholarly, dense, profound, and filled with allusion. As was the case with the earlier book, Peterson starts each chapter with a broad life rule, meanders off onto a somewhat long-winded but very well-backed dialogue about said rule and why we should implement it, then finally, finishes by stating the said rule again. Peterson’s personal style and philosophy are on full display here, and he has cultivated them almost perfectly in the years since his last release. His ability to willingly take the inevitable darkness of life and spin it into a motivating force is something that I admire very strongly.  


Here are the 12 new rules he described in this book. My top favorite, although I like all of this dozen, is rule#4.
  1. Do not carelessly denigrate social institutions or creative achievement
  2. Imagine who you could be, and then aim single-mindedly at that
  3. Do not hide unwanted things in the fog.
  4. Notice that opportunity lurks where responsibility has been abdicated
  5. Do not do what you hate
  6. Abandon ideology
  7. Work as hard as you possibly can on at least one thing and see what happens
  8. Try to make one room in your home as beautiful as possible
  9. If old memories still upset you, write them down carefully and completely
  10. Plan and work diligently to maintain the romance in your relationship
  11. Do not allow yourself to become resentful, deceitful, or arrogant
  12. Be grateful in spite of your suffering

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