12 Rules for Life

Peterson builds a life out of plain things. Clean your room. Stand up straight. Keep company with people who want the best for you. Tell the truth.

One of the twelve caught me instantly, because it’s the main one for me too. Tell the truth, or at least don’t lie. Lying is powerful — you can bend the world with words and get what you want more than once. The cost arrives later: fill yourself with lies and, on the day it matters, you won’t have the clarity to decide right.

My rule, “don’t lie, first of all to yourself”, isn’t the same as Peterson’s “tell the truth, or at least don’t lie”.

Start here. Read it with someone.