#377: 12 Rules for Life With Jordan Peterson

And one thing you can do is improve your posture. If things aren't going well for you, if you feel put down and victimized and if people are picking on you, it might be that you're broadcasting the wrong signals, and to stand up straight. Well, that starts to regulate your nervous system right then and there. And to stand up straight and face the world forthrightly means that people will treat you with more respect, and you can get a virtuous spiral developing.

In most places, and I've had a lot of jobs... In 90% of those places, if you were honest and you worked hard and you were reliable and you weren't above the job, then doors would open to you—and a lot faster than you think ... It's especially the case in our culture because our culture is actually based on competence. If you're reliable and honest and a hard worker and your eyes are open and you're grateful for what you've got, you can advance very rapidly.

One of the most ancient of religious ideas that emerges everywhere... is that life is essentially suffering. And what that means is that people are fragile and vulnerable and mortal and prone to physical decay and mental illness and to a fair share of malevolence as well. We're fragile creatures. And that means that life is hard and painful and anxiety-provoking. And you need something to set against that that's worthwhile, and that's... your positive destiny in the world.

If things aren't going well for you, then I would say: Start fixing the little things that are in front of you that you can fix and don't stop ... Try it for a year. Try it for two years—really dedicate yourself to it.

Well, everyone knows life is hard. And it's not just hard; it can be unbearably hard. And it's worse than hard because, sometimes, the hardship is inflicted upon you by yourself, or by someone close to you, or sometimes by an enemy, or sometimes by a friend—you get betrayed. And it's not just that it's hard, you're also subject to evil, you're subject to malevolence, and that makes it even worse—and everyone knows this. You need something to set against that. You need a noble way of being to set against that.