12 Rules for Life Short Summary

This is a book by Jordan Peterson, who is a psychologist and also a psychology professor in Canada. It is a nonfiction book that provides advice about life. It has been a success and has more than 2 million sold copies. The book was published in January 2018.

Peterson does provide 12 rules, and they are as follows. The first is about posture and standing up. He urges individuals to understand physicality and dominance, which project confidence and also competence. The next is treating oneself with primacy. Define yourself and streamline your personality. Take care of oneself like you take care of others and reward yourself for strenuous tasks.

The third involves making friends with those who care about you and want the best for you. Success is largely dependent on the surrounding. Avoid individuals that support the poor habits you have and instead have friends who care for your interests. Spend time with those who encourage your progress.

Make comparisons to the person who you were on the previous day. Do not compare yourself with another person today. Do not judge your success based on the success of others but according to where you have come from as a person. Take good inventory o who you were and who you are. Only obsess on your success; the success of others will not do you much good.

Make sure your children do not do anything leading to you disliking them. Adopt minimal force and impose rules with limits. It is also important to parent together.

Before criticizing others and the world, ensure that your house is in order. Let go of any negative forces, and this will help avoid the bitterness that most suffer. Stop doing what you already know is wrong and invest in what you are proud of.

Search for the meaningful things in life. Aim for personal growth by managing your shortcomings and negativity.

Do not lie or be truthful. Its sometimes hard to be truthful, but honesty with oneself is important in success. It can be easy to tell when you lie. Truth is connected to meaning according to Petersen, and hence lying is meaningless.

Accept that others might have the information you do not and accept their views as they might make you wiser.

Precision in speech is very important. Name the unnamable. Speech is important when dealing with Chaos.

Allow children to grow and bloom in their natural ways. Support them no matter what.

Appreciate the little things that make up your life. During the time of tragedy, these will help keep you going.