12 Rules For Life Challenge Results

“If you fulfill your obligations everyday you don't need to worry about the future.” - Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

Jordan Peterson's bestseller 12 Rules For Life may be the antidote we all need throughout our journey in life. It's not a political or religious movement. It's a transformation movement, to become the best person. After listening to the audio version of the book, I put all 12 rules into practice. In this post, I will explain the process of going about each one and the results I've earned. 

DISCLAIMER: This challenge, if you want to call it that, is not for everyone due to different outcomes. I'm implying everything I have recalled and have gained. If you want more context, check out the video section of my Minds profile. Also, some longer vids are in my news feed so you need to scroll down to find them since Minds only allow five minutes. 

RULE 1: Stand up straight with your shoulders back

The problem I had was putting myself out into the world. I had poor posture when sitting down and slumped my shoulders to one side while crossing my arms or resting my hands in my lap. I was a crooked mannequin. While I have a high metabolism and muscular arms like branches off deadwood, I was still weak. My chest often ached and the rest of my body later in the day. When I heard about Peterson describing the biology of the lobster, I thought something like that couldn't be true. A lobster. A small creature that is a third of a billion years old as part of our evolution! As he described what happens to a lobster after combating another male to see who was more powerful I sold myself. Standing up straight with your chest out and your shoulders back is a way of taking on real challenges. If you lose, your posture becomes weak and weakness leads down to the bottom. Worst, when you're at the bottom, someone will give you a lower status. What's my low status you may ask? A shy, scrawny young man who does not have the common decency to stand up and take on the heaviest load possible. I was afraid; I didn't talk much around others (still improving it as I write this) and barely communicate with anyone. 

I applied this rule in practice. After one week, I felt no soreness or unexpected pain. I am more awake and able to carry a heavy load and prepare myself for many situations. I gained a small amount of energy (or serotonin to be more accurate) without physical restraint. 

RULE 2: Treat yourself like someone you were responsible for helping

I'm not a caregiver towards plants, but I can look after my cat. So I thought of taking care of my online avatar. If I don't earn experience the next day, I will never level up. Then a second thought occurred: Can I do the same with my other self, the one who is slacking off? I asked myself this every time I arrive home from work or if I'm bored out of my mind. I didn't want to ask myself what I could do to make myself a better, healthier person. That wasn't enough. I had to ask my shadow. He's a smartass from time to time, egotistical and finds shortcuts to avoid hard tasks. He also does not want to make progress and wishes to remain the same day in and day out. First, I looked in the mirror asked myself, "are you here now? do you want to change? is there something holding you back?" 

Then I asked my shadow the same set of questions. The answers came out as "yes" but there were different paths. If I wanted to go down the path that led to progress and prosperity, I needed cooperation with my shadow. I negotiated. This is a skill I'm not good at, I'm only assertive. That's part of being extroversion, which is strange coming from an introvert like me. I said to my shadow, "what is it you want that you to don't already have?" And this is where Peterson suggests when you're stuck and fond upon wishes: Sit at the edge of your bed and ask what is the worst part of you that is holding you back? I got an instant answer from myself and my shadow. We compared each other and then asked the second question: How can we take care of ourselves without making a mess out of it? If I did this, I will earn this reward. I kept a record of this in a notebook and noticed a pattern. My shadow kept expecting the reward while I did the work. Slowly over time, he did the same for me by reducing the number of bad habits every day and accepting good ones. For example, I reduced the amount of beer from 4 bottles a day to 2, and from 2 to one until I drank carbonated water. Same with adding time to the clock whenever I needed to complete a personal project and reduced daydreaming and anxiety. After a month, I feel more clarity and peace of mind. I changed my diet from frozen processed foods to eating meat, veggies, and protein-fat based foods. I continued to ask myself and my shadow what we can both well whenever something bad comes up. 

RULE 3: Make friends with people who want the best for you

I don't have friends. True friends. I get lonely around people who do not have the same mindset or wishing others well on their journey through life. It's rare to find people like that. While I have none of these people in my life I have adopted the mindset. Providing guidance and reassurance is enough to give people courage. 

RULE 4: Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not with who someone is today

I had a bad habit of comparing myself to my friends from high school. I grew envious at their success in life. Later, I had no energy to work on my personal projects. Rule 4 showed me what it is like to know who the person I was before and how can I be more different tomorrow. At the end of each working day, I took five minutes to spend time alone with no distractions looking at myself in the mirror. I asked myself what could I well tomorrow and was today okay for me mentally and physically, and if not, why. Doing this, I got the feeling of overcoming anxiety and anger because I know I won't be like anyone else who is old or young and successful. I thought about the worst part about anyone and learned to avoid the pitfalls. The more I did this, the more confidence I got. I only think about what I want to do today and only for myself. Nothing else. 

RULE 5: Don't let your children do anything that makes you dislike them

While I don't have children of my own, I used this rule for my inner shadow and those who are younger than me. While going through this chapter, I found out about something disturbing. Peterson mentions children who, if not attended to properly with creativity and challenge, end up isolated later in life. I'm paraphrasing when I say this, but children who end up isolated developed mental problems such as antisocial behavior, depression, and dependency. That's why it is best to pay attention to what they are doing and point out the good and the bad stuff. I applied this to the good and bad habits my shadow was doing. As time went by my shadow changed.

RULE 6: Set your house in perfect order before criticizing the world 

This is one rule I have used the most throughout this challenge. Criticizing everything around me and its faults caused existential angst. I spent too much figuring out how things went wrong and how to fix them. It caused me to push barriers around those I was dating and had friendships with: what were they doing that made my skin crawl? I lost many people like this. Until I realized it was me that was the problem. I was sinking deeper into the underworld. I was a monster I never thought I'd be. So, rule 6, to put it lightly, means stop making things worse for yourself, stop over-thinking and lashing out at things you don't understand. Stop trying to control everything and just let go. I felt more ease and calmness, like drifting up to the surface of the ocean. It was a relief. 

RULE 7: Pursue what is meaningful, not what is expedient 

This is another rule I've used the most and is a work in progress. I developed in interests in things that were, well, interesting, but some never gave me any finance or wellbeing. Then I treated these interests like a game. The more I played the more knowledge I gained, and the more satisfied I was. I treated each project as a quest; I made sure I got what I deserved and asked myself if it was giving me satisfaction. It was scary, I'll admit, but it was better than doing nothing. Today, as I'm writing this, I found a paid internship for a company that focuses on sales writing and project management. I spent more time learning about sales writing and business through online courses and have enough time left over to work on revising my novel and voice-over work. The other thing I noticed was the reduced time I spent procrastinating on, such as internet surfing, Hulu, and Youtube. I paid attention whenever I get bored and thought about procrastinating again or if I feel tired and need more energy. So, I treat every meaningful event or task like I'm on a grand adventure.

RULE 8: Tell the truth, or at least don't lie  

I spent too much avoiding drama. It's toxic and brings none comfort. Until it becomes something important, like the upcoming death of a family member or money problems. Then I avoided it all and pretended it didn't happen. It's like submerging in quicksand: the more your body falls in, the more troubling it becomes and no one will be there to help you, especially if you continue to lie. While it can unsettle to hear something harsh, it is best to speak bluntly and calmly about it. I did this when working as a carpet cleaner when I told customers that certain stains did not come out of their carpet fabrics or furniture even though I told I would get them out. I examined more before I spoke my mind both in my working and private life, and it has worked. It prevented more catastrophe to occur in the long-run.

RULE 9: Assume the person you are listening to might know something you don't 

Again, this is a rule similar to what I've gone along with rule 8. Only this time I listened to what others had to say, pause a little to analyze their ideas and situations and gathered my own thoughts. Before this, I latched on with premature judgment as if it were a challenge and not a discussion. It was all about filling in the blinks of the problem or an idea and learning from others. 

RULE 10: Be precise in your speech

I took a while to come up with what I what to say. In situations where I have to talk to people, rather it is short or long conversations, I couldn't figure out what to say. When I have something to say about seventy percent of the time, it's a bunch of jumbo as if I speaking philosophically. When I look at a style of language, I look for short sentences that have elegance and simplicity. And I thought why not apply that when talking to people? Also, I try to keep things interesting and not personal or boring now. I walked away with smiling faces and compliments now. 

RULE 11: Don't bother children when they are skateboarding 

Again, I don't have kids, but every adult is a kid again if they desire. So, I take every danger encounter with confidence and curiosity and walk away without fear.

RULE 12: Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street

The only time I enjoy the little things in life is when I'm alone. I can have a good laugh while watching a funny video, a good cry whenever something amazing comes to a close, or a new discovery full of magnificence. But this was a way of sheltering away from the world and reminding myself to experience the living. I'm more connected to the world now than before and taking a moment to appreciate the wonders of life - the exciting stuff - makes me feel better.   

While I still have a long way to go on my journey through life,12 Rules For Life gave me a tremendous sense of transformation. One that opened my eyes and an extra boost to pursue a noble and worthwhile purpose. The thirty days spent gave me an urgent change, a change I was looking for a long time. Now I know what to do. Now I can pack up the essentials and climb the dominance hierarchy with confidence. 

Thank you, @JordanPeterson for your help. I hope to see you soon. 

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