12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

Front Cover
Random House of Canada, Jan 23, 2018 - Psychology - 448 pages
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER 

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

What does everyone in the modern world need to know?

Renowned psychologist Jordan B. Peterson's answer to this most difficult of questions uniquely combines the hard-won truths of ancient tradition with the stunning revelations of cutting-edge scientific research.


Humorous, surprising and informative, Dr. Peterson tells us why skateboarding boys and girls must be left alone, what terrible fate awaits those who criticize too easily, and why you should always pet a cat when you meet one on the street.

What does the nervous system of the lowly lobster have to tell us about standing up straight (with our shoulders back) and about success in life? Why did ancient Egyptians worship the capacity to pay careful attention as the highest of gods? What dreadful paths do people tread when they become resentful, arrogant and vengeful?

Dr. Peterson journeys broadly, discussing discipline, freedom, adventure and responsibility, distilling the world's wisdom into 12 practical and profound rules for life. 12 Rules for Life shatters the modern commonplaces of science, faith and human nature, while transforming and ennobling the mind and spirit of its readers.
 

Contents

Stand up straight with your shoulders back
1
Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping
31
Make friends with people who want the best for you
67
Compare yourself to who you were yesterday not to who someone else is today
85
Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them
113
Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world
147
Pursue what is meaningful not what is expedient
161
Tell the truthor at least dont lie
203
Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you dont
233
Be precise in your speech
259
Do not bother children when they are skateboarding
285
Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street
335
Coda
355
Endnotes 371 Index
390
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2018)

JORDAN B. PETERSON, raised and toughened in the frigid wastelands of Northern Alberta, has flown a hammer-head roll in a carbon-fiber stunt-plane, explored an Arizona meteorite crater with astronauts, and built a Kwagu'l ceremonial bighouse on the upper floor of his Toronto home after being invited into and named by that Canadian First Nation. He's taught mythology to lawyers, doctors and business people, consulted for the UN Secretary General, helped his clinical clients manage depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and schizophrenia, served as an adviser to senior partners of major Canadian law firms, and lectured extensively in North America and Europe. With his students and colleagues at Harvard and the University of Toronto, Dr. Peterson has published over a hundred scientific papers, transforming the modern understanding of personality, while his book Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief revolutionized the psychology of religion. The author lives in Toronto, ON. www.jordanbpeterson.com

Bibliographic information