Jordan Peterson is a clinical psychologist who wrote a book called 12 Rules For Life. This article is about three of the rules in his book about being a force for good. These three rules are: set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world, be precise in your speech, and pet a cat when you encounter one on the street. Living these rules can not only help you be a force for good but can also help you become a better person, face problems, and bear tragic times without them turning into unbearable experiences. Make sure to check out my articles about the other rules in Jordan Peterson’s book.
Rule number six is to set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world. The takeaway from this rule is to stop doing what you know to be wrong, stop saying the things you know to be false, and to set yourself straight before you criticize the world. People who are motivated by resentment and are trying to change the world can be dangerous. Therefore, if you are to make a significant and good impact it will start with you. Stop doing what you know to be wrong, and stop saying what you know to be false before you criticize the world.
Rule ten is to be precise in your speech. Many things only become clear until they have names or are identified in speech. For example, if you have a problem with a relationship but you can’t really understand what it is, putting it into words or a label can make a blurry undefined problem, very clear. When you are precise, you can label things in a way that will allow you to start addressing the problem. You can't even start to address the problem if there isn’t a name for it. It's like if you are feeling sick but you don’t know why, being precise in your speech can tell you exactly why you are sick, where you are sick, and how to treat it. “The unnamable is far more terrifying than the nameable” - Jordan Peterson
Rule twelve is to pet a cat if you encounter one on the street. This rule is about what to do when tragic things happen, as they inevitably will, and that is to see the unexpected beauty in life especially when things are dark. The beautiful things in life can easily go unnoticed, but recognizing them, petting a cat when you encounter one on the street, can help you get through those dark times successfully. And even if you’re unsuccessful, you can have those times be terrible but not absolutely unbearable. Jordan Peterson closes his book by saying that perhaps we should all try to avoid making terrible things unbearable, and maybe that could make the world a better place.
In this article I talked about three rules in the book “12 Rules for Life” written by Jordan Peterson relating to being a force for good. These rules help you become a better and more powerful person, thus increasing your ability to be a force for good. Please check out my other articles on the other rules about building better relationships, and making yourself powerful. We did a podcast on the 12 Rules for life that you can check out on Facebook and Periscope. I would highly recommend the book 12 Rules for Life and the YouTube talk by Jordan Peterson did on How to Academy about his book.
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