This is a chapter-by-chapter
summary of a book by Jordan B. Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to
Chaos (2018). One chapter, one article. Read this summary, buy the book.
Enjoy!
"To stand up straight with your shoulders back
is to accept the terrible responsibility of life, with eyes wide open. It means
deciding to voluntarily transform the chaos of potential into the realities of
habitable order. It means adopting the burden of self-conscious vulnerability
and accepting the end of the unconscious paradise of childhood, where finitude
and mortality are only dimly comprehended. It means willingly undertaking the
sacrifices necessary to generate a productive and meaningful reality [it
means acting to please God, in the ancient language]"
(Jordan B. Peterson)
Some people have bad
posture and that is much more meaningful than you may have thought it would be.
Peterson takes the behavior of lobsters as an example. Lobsters can change
their behavior according to their serotonin/octopamine levels (Simply put, or
maybe too simplistic, serotonin is a happy-hormone and octopamine function as
"mobilizing the body and nervous system for action"). Lobsters
fight all the time. When a lobster wins, its serotonin levels go up in contrast
with octopamine levels. On the other hand, low serotonin/high octopamine
lobsters are characterized as losers and are very likely to vanish at the first
hint of challenge that would bring them trouble.
A similar effect applies
to people. Peterson writes, "This is also true of lower ranking human
beings. Low serotonin means decreased confidence, means closed in body
language, means you're not gonna stand up straight with your shoulders back.
Low serotonin means less happiness, more pain, more anxiety, more illness, a
shorter lifespan. High spots in the dominance hierarchy and high serotonin
levels are characterized by the opposite." As soon as we meet someone,
we size him up to see where they fit in the social hierarchy. When serotonin
levels fall, depression appears and also a tendency to form a hump (bend, bow)
as you walk become visible to others. Instinctively, they are very likely to
think low of you, making you one of the easiest targets if they decide to take
advantage of someone. Acting like a loser will make people think of you as a
loser. Fixing your posture may be very simple, but "very important at
the same time to help you get started back up again."
So, stand up straight with
your shoulders back and dare to express your thoughts and desires. You have at
least the same right as others, if not bigger sometimes.
THINK BIG. START
SMALL. GO DEEP.
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