Following Tyler, my first pass at 12 rules to life <thread>
1. Treat others decently, always. People value dignity more than almost anything else. Give it to them.
2. In fact, go further than that. Help other people every day, even if it is something small.
1. Treat others decently, always. People value dignity more than almost anything else. Give it to them.
2. In fact, go further than that. Help other people every day, even if it is something small.
3. If you would feel ashamed to tell your friends you did something, don’t do that thing in the first place.
4. Try to do & read enough new things each year that you can’t believe how naive you were last year.
5. Traveling to new places is good, but being a tourist won’t teach you much. Living & working elsewhere will give you a different sense of place. Look for chances to do that.
5. Traveling to new places is good, but being a tourist won’t teach you much. Living & working elsewhere will give you a different sense of place. Look for chances to do that.
6. While young, try on many careers for size before settling on one. Don’t be afraid to change if you are unhappy.
7. Look for a vocation not a job. Something worthy of you time. You can always look for fulfillment with your spare time or hobbies, but that seems second best.
7. Look for a vocation not a job. Something worthy of you time. You can always look for fulfillment with your spare time or hobbies, but that seems second best.
8. As Tyler said, marry well. Choose someone you are relieved to have as your partner facing every difficult challenge together. Because you will.
9. If you find people with ideas that are infuriating or repugnant to you, consider that you probably misunderstand what they think or why. Make your default reaction “what are the assumptions that make them right?” Every person has a moral framework for why they are correct.
10. If you feel you’re among the smartest people in the room, you are in the wrong room. You’re only going to learn from being around others who know more than you. If you can’t find a room of people smarter or better informed than you, then you are probably a delusional asshole
11. Be deeply suspicious of supernatural claims, extreme points of view, or ideologies. The most likely scenario is that they are wrong.
12. If you haven’t changed your mind on something deep and important in the last year, then it’s best to assume that you either are not seeking enough new information or you are not thinking about it deeply.
