Book Review- 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson

 
To be forthcoming, I chose to read this book because someone gifted me Beyond Order by Jordan Peterson (his second book) and somehow I guessed the book would be more insightful if I first completed the introductory book of the series. I am yet to open Beyond Order…just pausing for the overwhelming read “12 Rules for Life” to get settled inside my limited psyche.

At the end of this read, I find that this book is like a handbook having a counter-intuitive strategy for a population hooked on the instant gratification of ideological conformity and social media likes. It provides the ‘logic’ and ‘sense’ to the impulses of the new generation and works as a contemporary self-help book wherein the writer attempts to explain that our norms and culture exist for a reason.

12 Rules For Life, as the title says, lays out a set of 12 simple principles that can help us become more disciplined, behave better, act with integrity, and balance our lives while enjoying them as much as we can.

This book also combines pull-your-socks-up type scolding with numerous footnoted references from several academic papers. Somewhere in between the reading, I felt that the content is not justifying the measurement of the chapter. Few of the stories went for a pseudo-profundity kind-of effect but were irrelevant to my understanding. I literally had to skim through some of the content in a few of the chapters.

The 12 rules as mentioned in the books are as below. My favorite ones are Rule 1, 9, 11 & 6 (in order of likeliness)

Rule 1: Stand Up Straight With Your Shoulders Back (I liked this chapter as the gist of the chapter indicates accepting the responsibility of life, be it good or bad, and working toward meaningful practical life)

Rule 2: Treat Yourself Like Someone You Are Responsible for Helping

Rule 3: Make Friends with People Who Want the Best For You (Because if finding those people is difficult, what is most challenging to maintain and work on the lines of such people)

Rule 4: Compare Yourself to Who You Were Yesterday, Not Who Someone Else is Today

Rule 5: Do Not Let Your Children Do Anything that Makes You Dislike Them (Love is a typical game, the more may be less but at times the less is always more. It is the quality of time spent that matters and not the amount of period given in their growing)

Rule 6: Set Your House in Perfect Order Before You Criticize the World

Rule 7: Pursue What is Meaningful (Not What is Expedient)

Rule 8: Tell the Truth, or at least Don’t Lie

Rule 9: Assume that the Person You Are Listening to Might Know Something You Don’t

Rule 10: Be Precise in Your Speech (Words are the mirror of inner emotions. They are the energy that can mend a relationship or can built a wall)

Rule 11: Do Not Bother Children when they are Skateboarding

Rule 12: Pet a Cat When You Encounter One on the Street

Final verdict- The book is a 'normal' read if you have already read other similar-category-yet-better-written books, but for someone inaugurating the self-help genre, the book may sound exciting and thought-provoking.

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(This is post number 99)