12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

Jordan B. Peterson

Random House of Canada, Jan 23, 2018 - Psychology - 448 pages

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What are the most valuable things that everyone should know?

Acclaimed clinical psychologist Jordan B Peterson has influenced the modern understanding of personality, and now he has become one of the world's most popular public thinkers, with his lectures on topics from the Bible to romantic relationships to mythology drawing tens of millions of viewers. In an era of unprecedented change and polarizing politics, his frank and refreshing message about the value of individual responsibility and ancient wisdom has resonated around the world.

In this book, he provides twelve profound and practical principles for how to live a meaningful life, from setting your house in order before criticising others to comparing yourself to who you were yesterday, not someone else today. Happiness is a pointless goal, he shows us. Instead we must search for meaning, not for its own sake, but as a defence against the suffering that is intrinsic to our existence.

Drawing on vivid examples from the author's clinical practice and personal life, cutting-edge psychology and philosophy, and lessons from humanity's oldest myths and stories, 12 Rules for Life offers a deeply rewarding antidote to the chaos in our lives: eternal truths applied to our modern problems.

Contents

• Stand up straight with your shoulders back: 1
• Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping: 31
• Make friends with people who want the best for you: 67
• Compare yourself to who you were yesterday not to who someone else is today: 85
• Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them: 113
• Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world: 147
• Pursue what is meaningful not what is expedient: 161
• Tell the truthor at least dont lie: 203
• Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you dont: 233
• Be precise in your speech: 259
• Do not bother children when they are skateboarding: 285
• Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street: 335
• Coda: 355
• Endnotes 371 Index: 390

About the author

JORDAN B. PETERSON, raised and toughened in the frigid wastelands of Northern Alberta, has flown a hammer-head roll in a carbon-fiber stunt-plane, explored an Arizona meteorite crater with astronauts, and built a Kwagu'l ceremonial bighouse on the upper floor of his Toronto home after being invited into and named by that Canadian First Nation. He's taught mythology to lawyers, doctors and business people, consulted for the UN Secretary General, helped his clinical clients manage depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and schizophrenia, served as an adviser to senior partners of major Canadian law firms, and lectured extensively in North America and Europe. With his students and colleagues at Harvard and the University of Toronto, Dr. Peterson has published over a hundred scientific papers, transforming the modern understanding of personality, while his book Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief revolutionized the psychology of religion. The author lives in Toronto, ON. www.jordanbpeterson.com

Bibliographic information

• Title: 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
• Author: Jordan B. Peterson
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Random House of Canada, 2018
• ISBN: 0345816021, 9780345816023
• Length: 448 pages
• Subjects: Philosophy / Social; Psychology / Applied Psychology; Self-Help / Personal Growth / Success