Book Review – 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson

I have decided to do a monthly book review as part of my sharing and communication efforts. I enjoy reading new books and it is easier to remember their content if I share a summary and my thoughts of them.

The reason I have chosen 12 Rules for Life is because I just finished reading this book so it is still fresh in my mind. The book contains 12 common sense rules developed by psychologist and university professor Jordan B. Peterson based on his life experiences, observations, studies and professional practice as a clinician. The book is not an academic volume but an easy read with many relatable stories that make the reading somewhat alive throughout the book. It is a thick book, but the style makes it enjoyable.

The list of the 12 rules is the following:

1. Stand up straight with your shoulders back;
2. Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping;
3. Make friends with people who want the best for you;
4. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today;
5. Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them;
6. Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world;
7. Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient);
8. Tell the truth – or, at least, don’t lie;
9. Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t;
10. Be precise in your speech;
11. Do not bother children when they are skateboarding;
12. Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street.

As you can see, these rules are mostly common sense but I would invite you to read the book and discover how this common sense actually makes “much sense” and is truly needed today.

In the introduction to this book Dr. Norman Doidge, a friend and a colleague of Peterson, says: “God didn’t give Moses “The Ten Suggestions,” he gave Commandments; and if I’m a free agent, my first reaction to a command might just be that nobody, not even God tells me what to do, even if it’s good for me. But the story of the golden calf also reminds us that without rules we quickly become slaves of our passions-and there’s nothing freeing about that.” I kept this in mind as I read the book expecting, and in fact receiving, a rationale that would align with my inner self. The articulation of the apparent simple definition of the rules becomes deeply enriched by the discussion offered by the author in each of the chapters (one per rule). Reading becomes a journey that takes the reader through many universes: from science to psychology, from religion to spirituality, from professional practice to personal stories, and so on.

However, the corollary of the whole book, for me, resides in the last part of it called Coda (an Italian word which means tail in English and that obviously signifies the end of the book in the mind and words of Peterson). In this last chapter of the book there is a pearl of great price that Peterson derives from two verses in the Bible. Peterson is not a religious person but has studied many religions extensively and has familiarity with holy scriptures, including Christian canons.

This is what he had to say: “We’re all in the dark…much of the time. We could all use something written with light to guide us along our way…There are two verses in the New testament that pertain to such things. I’ve thought of them a lot:

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

In his analysis of these two verses he comes to the conclusion that “God is no simple granter of wishes.” In fact, he states that it may not be reasonable to ask God to break the rules of nature every time we make an error. We have to make our choices. But what the God of the New Testament is willing to do is answering the right questions. Peterson says: “You can’t put the cart before the horse and simply wish for your problem to be solved in some magical manner. Perhaps you could ask, instead, what you might have to do right now to increase your resolve, buttress your character, and find the strength to go on.”

I was touched by this because, as much as I believe in miracles, I also believe that God leaves me completely free to live my life, although in the process He is willing to help by answering my questions. In the last year, I heard much about asking the right questions. Dr. Wendy Watson wrote a whole book on the topic of questions: “Change your Questions, Change your Life.” And just last Sunday I heard Michelle Craig, a leader in my church, saying that she asks two questions every day: “What is the one thing I am doing that I should stop doing?” and “What is the one thing I am not doing that I should start doing?” Let us ask the right questions and ponder for the right answers.

I am pleased that I was able to read this book and I truly recommend it to all for a good, different read.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

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