Summary:
An essay format book written by a psychologist covering a broad range of topics from parenting to goal setting. As the author, Jordan Peterson, explains in the book people are constantly searching for rules to live by and this book broadly explores a collection of topics and ideas to extract and try to distill 12 rules for life.
Similar Books:
7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
Getting Things Done – David Allen
I found all 3 of the above books to be more specific and practical than 12 Rules For Life. Below I’ve included some of my notes from the book 12 Rules For Life. Some have been paraphrased and are not direct quotes.
Book Notes:
- Many people will take better care of their pets than themselves.
- Care for yourself as you would a loved one.
- Define what you want in life and goal set to make sure you take steps in the right direction.
- Bad habits and negative influences are often much more powerful than positive ones.
- Surround yourself with people who want the best for you and hold you to higher standards.
- Harsh self-criticism can be damaging as it ignores incremental success.
- Don’t compare yourself to others, use the past ‘you’ instead.
- Take responsibility for yourself and your own life before you judge others for theirs.
- Seek meaningful goals over instant gratification.
- Honesty in goal setting and life is incredibly important.
- Presume that everyone you speak with has something they can teach you.
- Be precise in what you say and do.
- Life can be difficult, make sure to stop and celebrate often.
