12 Rules for Life Book Summary
Drawing on psychology, mythology, religion, and personal experiences, clinical psychologist and professor Jordan B. Peterson offers 12 useful ideas in 12 Rules for Life to enable people to bring order to the chaos of life. His main argument is that a well-lived life depends critically on meaning and responsibility.
The Twelve Rules
(with brief justifications)
Straighten your shoulders and back.
Own it and project confidence. This confidence will shape your view of yourself and others’ treatment of you.
Treat yourself as someone you are accountable for helping; take care of yourself with the same compassion and diligence you would show someone you love.
Get friends who want the best for you.
Surround yourself with people who advance your well-being rather than those who pull you down.
Not to someone else today, but rather to who you were yesterday; compare yourself.
Emphasise personal development above envy or comparison.
Allow nothing your children do to make you hate them.
Raising well-adjusted and likeable children calls for both discipline and direction.
Before you criticise the world, make sure your house is exactly perfect.
Sort your personal life first before attempting to transform society or others.
Seek what is meaningful, not what is a quick fix.
Look for long-term goals and responsibility instead of fleeting pleasures or benefits.
Tell the truth—that is, avoid lying at least.
Building a stable and real life depends on honesty, even in trying circumstances.
In conversations, practice humility and open-mindedness, assuming the person you are listening to might know something you do not.
Speak precisely in your address.
Clarity helps to avoid confusion and anarchy in relationships and daily life.
Children should not be bothered while they are skating.
Let people—especially boys—learn resilience, grow strong, and embrace risks.
Pet a cat you come across on the street; value little moments of peace and beauty, particularly in trying circumstances.