Jordan Peterson, a Canadian Psychologist, has become a viral sensation because of his media interviews and YouTube presentations on practical and controversial topics covering personal growth and healthy relationships like child-rearing, marriage, the meaning behind religion, friendship, personal responsibility, equality, and gender issues (from assumptions about toxic masculinity to transgender studies). Based on consuming a number of those interviews and presentations, I started reading 12 Rules with a definite expectation of a clear, pithy, and practical path to self-improvement. After all, don’t all of us know, any book with a set number of secrets, principles, rules, precepts or irrefutables will include some common assumptions, a few surprises, and always, in an easy-to-digest style? That leads to my recommendation that you read the 12 Rules, though it is seasoned with a warning and wrapped in a book review!

A Recommendation

Read it. Or listen to it. Sooner than later. As in, your next book. Peterson is so brutally honest (one of his rules is to tell the truth or at least not lie) that you can’t help but be a little more forthcoming with yourself and others in the reading. He is so willing to go against popular culture and the PC ethos of academia that you’ll feel a bit like a bold and strong bulwark against the fickle winds of enlightened conformity. He is so versed in not only his field of behavioral psychology but also philosophy and religion and literature and history that you will feel smarter whether or not you understand every word of the book. He is so down-to-earth practical that your are going to be challenged to take responsibility for your personal life and the way you interact with others—and help those others while doing so.

The second rule, treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping, is case in point. Peterson uses statistics and studies to shine a spotlight on the sad truth that many people treat their pets better than they treat themselves. For example, it is more likely that a person will fill a medicinal prescription for their cat or dog than they will for themselves. His argument sparkles as he warns us in this chapter:

You need to articulate your own principles, so you can defend yourself against others’ taking advantage of you. You must keep the promises you make to yourself, and reward yourself, so that you can trust and motivate yourself.

That quote alone is worth a five-star review and recommendation. But there are still a couple of warnings!