| The Simple Rules You Need to Survive This World |
[Aug. 19th, 2008|07:49 am] |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) naamah_darling has a great post this morning about a list about how to be rebellious (here's a clue: if you need a list, you're doing it wrong) which then sort of devolved into general rules for living, which is good, all of which provoked the thought that really I'm not into rules for living.
Or if I am, I have a set that's slightly different than everyone else's, which makes life interesting.
(Trants, reading this, is saying "You got that one right, Cindy.")
But let's ponder what some of the rules are. Perhaps this will be an interesting exercise.
Perhaps it is cheaper than therapy.
Perhaps it will appeal to you and I can start my own self-help movement and wind up on Oprah.
Rule #1: Every you will ever meet in this world wants something from you. That is the nature of the world, and there's no sense making yourself nuts over it. The real positive use of your time is to decide if what the person wants (the price) is worth whatever value or benefit you get from the relationship.
Rule #2: It's a good idea (but difficult!) to remember that while you're practicing Rule #1, SO IS EVERYONE ELSE.
Rule #3: When in doubt, always take the course of action you wouldn't mind telling a total random stranger about. Or your Mom. Or a jury of your peers.
Rule #4: If you cannot follow rule #3, make damn sure your actions take place in such a fashion you will never have to tell a random stranger about it -- or your Mom, or a jury of your peers.
Rule #5: Learn to SHUT UP AND LISTEN. Your life will get better. You will learn more. You will be in a far better position to collect useful blackmail material.
Rule #6: Every situation has an opportunity in it. Every single one. It is your job to find it, assess the outcomes, and decide if you're going to capitalize on it or not.
Rule #7: IT IS YOUR JOB. At the end of the day, it's on you. No one's going to make you happy but you. No one can do your work but you. No one is going to get you up, keep you going, and make you shine except you.
Rule #8: You can't do your job alone. (Yes, TRants, I'm working on this one) Isolation, while very attractive and comforting, makes it difficult to function. You need to surround yourself with people who make your life better -- THIS IS AN ACTIVE PROCESS. Don't worry about surrounding yourself with people who drag your ass down. They'll show up whether you look for them or not. But ideally, you'll have a larger pool of better people than worse people.
Rule #9: Realize you've been given a gift. Every single one of us is in the position to do great things. Every single person reading this can change -- if not the world! -- someone else's life for the better. Every single person has the opportunity to create a difference, on a small scale, on a grand scale, on a scale that could transform reality. Be grateful.
Rule #10: Work Hard. There is no get-out-of-life free card. The price for success is work. Don't be lazy. Do what you have to do to get what you want, to achieve your goals, to realize your dreams. The world is full of lazy geniuses who achieve nothing and hard working idiots who shine brightly. Work hard.
***
Wow, I started this being flippant and ended somber. Ah, but consistency in tone? I charge $50/hour for that. *grin* Which I'd better get my butt going, looking askance at the clock.
Onward, upward, forward. But do tell me: what are your rules? |
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| Comments: |
Gotta disagree with #3. There's a whole lotta things I never would have done if I hadn't stopped caring what my mother would think.
I think I'll be working on mine today. *nods*
That original list is the most Fail-tastic thing I've seen in a while (naamah_darling 's additions, meanwhile, made me laugh out loud)
Extracts from my own mental list 'o rules for living
- Try. That might not be enough, but if you do', you definately won't make it.
- Sometimes, the less you want to do something the more you really should. Othertimes you really don't want to do something because you really shouldn't - good luck figuring out the difference.
- Yes is a great word. So is No.
- your body's part of the package too. Dance, stretch, sing, eat, sleep - all that stuff.
- Society at large can fuck right off, but that doesn't mean you should ignore *everyone*'s opinion.
Hrm. The rule that pops to mind before everything else is one of the few things my paternal grandmother (who raised me) and my mother (who custody was taken from) agree upon.
Don't write shit down. (And conversely, get things in writing.)
My rules include:
(1) Respond to the statement or the action without insulting the person.
(2) Resist the impulse to swear, since this tends to prevent other people from actually hearing what you're saying. (They might not hear it anyway, but raising the tone almost guarantees that they won't.)
(3) Tolerate everything except intolerance.
But then, I probably didn't need to say that.
Some of my rules include:
-- Try to laugh at least once a day, and not in a mean way.
-- Leave it better than it was when you found it.
-- Make a special effort to remember the important things. The trivial will stick with you whether you want it to or not.
clean up after yourself. (i sound like my mom. heh.) this doesn't just mean putting your dirty socks in the laundry basket instead of on the floor.
do not apologize for who and what you are, or what you do and don't like.
accept that sometimes you're the bird, and sometimes you're the statue. on days when you're the statue, don't take it personally. the universe doesn't have it in for you and doesn't care about you any more than it cares about anyone else.
don't be afraid to say no. don't be afraid to say yes either. but have a reason, whatever you say.
do not make someone else responsible for your happiness or your success. do not accept responsibility for someone else's happiness and success.
and i have to agree with gnomi - leave the place a little better than you found it. | |
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