Introduction of "Rules For Life" Series

There is a notable psychologist that is very popular in the mainstream by the name of Jordan Peterson. He has appeared on several podcasts, namely the Joe Rogan Experience, and has thousands of hours worth of lectures and content either self published to youtube or inspirationally created by those who have heard his teaching. He is perhaps one of the greatest thinkers of our time. He is truly inspirational and can motivate you to consider your life and what you are making of it in light of what you could be making of it and the impact you have on the world. Random people have tattoos of this guy's face for the impact he has made on their life. He is truly intelligent, and I find his work fascinating as well. 

With that being said, I must begin by stating that I don't always agree with him. Though it is hard for a common nonintellectual to build a case against someone with the reputation of Peterson's, I stand my ground when I say, "I get what you're saying, but I can't fully agree with you." He is not a Christian, though he often uses the Bible as a reference to make his psychological points. Obviously, my take on the whole thing is that the Bible is the ultimate reference because even psychology points back to the author who inspired the writers of the complete canon because God is the author of psychology too. 

I would never aimlessly bring this up if I didn't have a motive, so I will cut to the chase. Peterson recently wrote a book called "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote for Chaos" where he discusses 12 specific attributes of living that will not only enhance your own life exponentially, but also the lives of those around you. The origins of that list of 12 rules actually stemmed from a greater list of "rules" that he kind of widdled down. This list is highly intriguing to me, and if I want to write I typically wait for some kind of inspiration to write. The greater list is what has prompted me to do this. I want to take the list, around 40ish rules, and break them down and express my opinions and give them from a perspective that I believe lines up with my life as a believer in Christ. Some of these when you read them you'll think, "oh, I can see how that easily fits into Christianity." Which is what the initial reading of the list did for me. So I wanted to dive into a series to give me some direction in my writing and use this list as a spring board for completing the task of simple commentary from a simple person on a list of thoughts said to make life better for those who read it and those who are around them. 

As you look at this list, slow down and digest it. Enjoy reading through it and just chew on a couple of them. There are a couple that I can't wait to get to because they line up directly with the message I'd like to convey under the Stewardship In All Things banner. Please don't hear me as some fanboy just replicating a list from someone I think is incredibly smart. Consider it an opportunity for all of us to take a look at ourselves and find out if these things are not only beneficial for our lives, but Biblical at their core. Truth is truth whether it is preached on high at the greatest effort to glorify God, or if it is being used to further a psychological point without giving God the credit. It is up to us to ensure that the Alpha and Omega of all things, who transcends time, space, and words written, gets all the praise possible for what belongs to Him and created by Him and created through Him.

Without further delay, this is the list that I will be drawing from for posts in the foreseeable future:

1. Tell the truth… or at least don’t lie
2. Do not do things that you hate
3. Act so that you can tell the truth about how you act
4. Pursue what is meaningful, not what is expedient
5. If you have to choose, be the one who does things, instead of the one who is seen to do things
6. Pay attention
7. Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you need to know
8. Listen to them hard enough so that they will share it with you
9. Plan and work diligently to maintain the romance in your relationships
10. Be careful who you share good news with
11. Be careful who you share bad news with
12. Make at least one thing better every single place you go
13. Imagine who you could be, and then aim single-mindedly at that
14. Do not allow yourself to become arrogant or resentful
15. Try to make one room in your house as beautiful as possible
16. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today
17. Work as hard as you possibly can on at least one thing and see what happens
18. If old memories still make you cry, write them down carefully and completely
19. Maintain your connections with people
20. Do not carelessly denigrate social institutions or artistic achievement
21. Treat yourself as if you were someone that you are responsible for helping
22. Ask someone to do you a small favour, so that he or she can ask you to do one in the future
23. Make friends with people who want the best for you
24. Do not try to rescue someone who does not want to be rescued
25. And be very careful about rescuing someone who does
26. Nothing well done is insignificant
27. Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world
28. Dress like the person you want to be
29. Be precise in your speech
30. Stand up straight with your shoulders back
31. Don’t avoid something frightening if it stands in your way – and don’t do unnecessarily dangerous things
32. Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them
33. Do not transform your wife into a maid
34. Do not hide unwanted things in the fog
35. Notice that opportunity lurks where responsibility has been abdicated
36. Read something written by someone great
37. Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street
38. Do not bother children when they are skateboarding
39. Don’t let bullies get away with it
40. Write a letter to the government if you see something that needs fixing – and propose a solution
41. Remember that what you do not yet know is more important than what you already know
42. Be grateful in spite of your suffering

Some of these writings may be a combination of two on the list, but for the most part, I will settle for one post each. There are a lot of things to be said, and I am sure you have things racing through your mind as well. Also, I have not read his book and have merely heard him speak online. I cannot possibly begin to articulate what Peterson's original thoughts behind all of these are and what they signify to him as a psychologist in a clinical manner or personal manner. 

What I hope to do with this list is to help open our eyes to be better people. That is essentially the entire purpose of this blog space. I want people to understand their value and help them escape the wrath of their own judgment so that they can enjoy what little life we have. This is something that I need in my life, and I know there are others that are the same and need this kind of direction and encouragement. 

Looking forward to walking through this list with my own twist and hopefully glorifying God in all of it.