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5 Short Rules for Life I Wish I’d Learned Earlier
Save yourself a lot of frustration
It’s that time of year again.
All the kids go back to school and have to unlearn all the bad habits they picked up over the summer.
My boys started school again today, and they spent their entire day going over all the rules of the classroom and re-learning how to fit into the little boxes all public school children have to contort themselves into. Otherwise, the school dissolves into anarchy.
Rules are part of life.
But most of them are just made up to benefit others who have power over us. Be nice, listen to authority, don’t pull Sammy’s hair. Over time, we internalize the rules and don’t bother questioning them. Then, as adults, we wonder why we feel so suffocated with no control over our lives.
Over the years, I’ve worked to deprogram my thinking. Through that process, I’ve developed a few rules of my own. But these 5 rules actually help me live a better, happier life.
Here’s what’s working for me.
1. Fitting in is overrated — stop trying
When I was a freshman in high school, I nearly got into a fistfight.
I wasn’t some troubled teen, and the other person didn’t attack me — other than calling me names I can’t repeat here without getting in trouble. It happened because some of his friends instigated it. They were all part of the cool crowd. I wasn’t, and I wanted to get their attention.
The only thing that stopped me was when our School Resource Officer took me to the office had a little chat with me. He explained all those other kids just wanted was to see a fight. They didn’t care about me, or what happened to me as a result.
The crowd only cared about their own entertainment.
There’s a quote by Mark Twain that I think about often: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
Most people I know sell their souls to fit in with the crowd. They give up their dreams to climb the corporate ladder. They go all in with a political party and unquestioningly accept their views. They fit…
