| Title | 12 Rules for Life |
| Author | Jordan Peterson |
| Publisher | Penguin Books |
| Pages | 448 |
| Year | 2019 |
| Rating | ★★★★★ (5 stars) |
| Purchase Link | Buy Here |
12 Rules for Life is the best-seller by psychiatrist Jordan Peterson, where he teaches several tools to mature and become more autonomous.
12 Rules for Life is essential for those who feel lost in this confusing world and want a guide on how to live in these confusing times. You can check more book summaries on this page.
What is the Synopsis of 12 Rules for Life?
The book shows 12 steps to become more autonomous, conquer your goals and take the reins of your own life through maturation.
Peterson’s work also shows how you can take simple (yet bold) steps, to start having a real life, even if you haven’t achieved anything at the present moment.
Thus, the synopsis of 12 rules for life is that the work is a true personal development manual for people of all kinds, with timeless lessons. You can buy this book by clicking here.
Who is the author of 12 Rules for Life?
The author of 12 Rules for Life is Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychiatrist and university professor famous for his YouTube videos on growing up and taking responsibility.
In addition, Jordan Peterson has published other books and has also passed through several universities as a professor, having a respected academic career. You can read more book summaries on this page.
Which Jordan Peterson Books?
Jordan Peteron’s books are:
- Maps of Meaning: Architecture of Belief.
- 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
- Beyond Order: more 12 Rules for Life
What is the Summary of 12 Rules for Life?
Through 12 steps, the author teaches how to have more responsibility and how to mature. In this way, the main lessons are to take care of yourself, get closer to better people, take care of your life before criticizing the world and others.
So, to summarize the 12 Rules for Life, let’s divide them into smaller groups:
First, the first four rules talk about how you should deal with yourself in the first place.
So he instructs you to walk upright, to take care of yourself, to seek out people who have your best interests at heart, and to compare yourself only with yourself.
Second, Peterson puts rules 4, 5 and 6 as those for others: we must take care of what our children do and take care of our own room before asking the world to be perfect. Finally, we must also look for that which gives us meaning.
Third, Jordan Peterson’s book lays out the 8, 9 and 10 principles of communication in the rules, such as being precise in what you say, not lying and assuming that the person you are talking to knows something you don’t.
Finally, rules 11 and 12 talk about how to take life more lightly, enjoying the little things and respecting the autonomy of other individuals. Buy the book by clicking here. Check a summary about the book 5 Love Lenguages clicking here.
What is the Review of 12 Rules for Life?
The book shows, through various references from literature, history and religions, how it is possible to have a better life through responsibility and maturity. Rules range from rules that you must do it yourself to rules for how you must treat others.
Therefore, the book is extremely current, showing how the world is moving towards people having less and less responsibilities and becoming less and less mature.
Therefore, reading this work is essential, as it is the antidote to the state in which the world finds itself (hence the subtitle an antidote to chaos).
Plus, references to classic literature will make you want to read these books. He cites classics of religious literature, Dostoevsky and other works.
Finally, the review of 12 Rules for Life is positive, since this book is a true manual on how to live well in these difficult times. You can buy this book by clicking here.
What are the 12 Rules for Life?
The 12 Rules from Jordan Peterson’s book are:
1. Stand up straight with your shoulders back.
First, we must walk upright, as our body understands that we are more confident and improves our hormone production, similarly to what happens with lobsters.
2. Treat yourself like you are someone you are responsible for helping.
In fact: many times, we take better care of a dog or a relative than we do ourselves, giving medicine and doing other things. Therefore, we need to do this in our lives.
3. Make friends with people who want the best for you.
In addition, we should look for people who want our good and who are true friends, being necessary to stay away from bad friends and even some relatives, if applicable.
4. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.
Comparing yourself to other people is a recipe for frustration, as we only see the best in other people’s lives. So compare yourself to who you were before. Buy the book by clicking here. Read his other book Maps of Meaning summary here.
5. Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them.
Since parents can let their children act in such a way that they do wrong things, you need to take care that they develop correctly, without being dominated by modern ideologies.
6. Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world.
Even if we see things wrong in the world, we should think about whether we should criticize it, because, many times, we are not even able to clean our room or take care of our lives.
7. Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient).
Fact: We often make decisions that are easy and convenient for us. However, we must seek what we really want, even if it is more difficult.
8. Tell the truth – or, at least, don’t lie.
Lying is a recipe for living a life of deceit. When you only speak the truth, things are simpler and you give order to your life. Read his other book Beyond Order summary here.
9. Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t.
So when talking to someone, don’t assume you’re better or already know everything: learn to listen to others and understand that you can learn from everyone.
10. Be precise in your speech.
First, we must say things precisely. That way, we will know what we want and what we are thinking in our hearts.
11. Do not bother children while they are skateboarding.
Kids venture into dangerous activities all the time, and that should be part of their maturity. Therefore, we cannot raise them in a dome: they need a challenge.
12. Pet a cat when you encounter one in the street.
Finally, we must see the little things in life that have value: simple and beautiful moments that we cannot see, but that should be cherished. Read a summary about the book Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning here.
What are the Downsides of 12 Rules for Life?
The negatives of 12 Rules for Life are:
- For some, the thickest communication can be difficult to understand.
- The order of the chapters could be different to give greater cohesion.
What are the Positives of 12 Rules for Life?
The strengths of 12 Rules for Life are:
- The book has helpful lessons.
- Jordan Peterson promotes autonomy and responsibility.
- Several important cultural references are cited.
- This work makes you want to be someone better.
What are the Main Lessons of 12 Rules for Life?
The main lessons of 12 Rules for Life are:
1) First, walk upright to feel more confident.
2) Secondly, take better care of yourself, whether in health, appearance or psychological aspect.
3) Third, look for people who want the best for you.
4) Also, comparing yourself with others only creates frustration: compare yourself with yourself.
6) Also, take care of your children’s education so that they are not influenced by negative inspirations.
6) In fact: it’s no use criticizing the world if you don’t take care of simple things like a messy room or a sink with dishes.
7) Even if you want to seek only what is easy, it is worth pursuing what is most arduous and most rewarding.
8) Telling the truth makes your life more orderly and prevents you from living a life of lies.
9) In fact: don’t think you’re smarter than others, always looking for the opportunity to learn from others.
10) Don’t be vague: be precise in what you say, bluntly.
11) Also, let children do risky things and have challenges, not to raise them in such a way that they become spoiled adults.
12) Finally, enjoy the simple things in life: seeing a cat in the street, calm music, nature and others. You can buy the book by clicking here.
Read 12 Rules for Life Is It Worth It??
Yea! 12 Rules for Life is worth reading. The book gives extremely useful tips to have a better life through its 12 lessons. Therefore, it is mandatory reading.
In addition, the book has several references to other classic books that will make you want to read more and more, acquiring the habit of reading.
Also, the book is divided into 12 parts, making you want to keep reading to know the other rules.
If you are interested in buying 12 Rules for Life, it’s worth it! You can buy this book by clicking here.