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12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

  • Downloads：5392
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-10-22 08:53:09
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Jordan B. Peterson
  • ISBN：0241351634
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Summary

You can find an alternative cover edition for this ISBN here。

What are the most valuable things that everyone should know？

Acclaimed clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson has influenced the modern understanding of personality， and now he has become one of the world's most popular public thinkers， with his lectures on topics from the Bible to romantic relationships to mythology drawing tens of millions of viewers。 In an era of unprecedented change and polarizing politics， his frank and refreshing message about the value of individual responsibility and ancient wisdom has resonated around the world。

In this book， he provides twelve profound and practical principles for how to live a meaningful life， from setting your house in order before criticising others to comparing yourself to who you were yesterday， not someone else today。 Happiness is a pointless goal， he shows us。 Instead we must search for meaning， not for its own sake， but as a defence against the suffering that is intrinsic to our existence。

Drawing on vivid examples from his clinical practice and personal life， cutting edge psychology and philosophy， and lessons from humanity's oldest myths and stories， Peterson takes the reader on an intellectual journey like no other。 Gripping， thought-provoking and deeply rewarding， 12 Rules for Life offers an antidote to the chaos in our lives: eternal truths applied to our modern problems。

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Reviews

Andrew Alvis ，

Well， it took over 5 months but finally I finished it。Never have I read a book that tried to give me great advice to utilise in my day to day life but now I have and， although my adherence to its' lessons have been neglected for some time， I would urge anyone looking for guidance in their life that is received at a reasonable price then look no further for this may hold the answers you have been looking for。10/10， 100% would recommend。 Well， it took over 5 months but finally I finished it。Never have I read a book that tried to give me great advice to utilise in my day to day life but now I have and， although my adherence to its' lessons have been neglected for some time， I would urge anyone looking for guidance in their life that is received at a reasonable price then look no further for this may hold the answers you have been looking for。10/10， 100% would recommend。 。。。more

Venky Khanna ，

was definitely worth reading， and would be re-reading it again in time。

Gerry Dupuis ，

The rules were actually pretty good。 The stories were a bit long and droning。

John ，

Jordan Peterson did a fantastic job with 12 Rules for Life。 One of my favorite topics is Rule #11。 The notion of having a sweet spot between safety and risk。 There is a healthy way to optimize risk。 You can actively choose to not be scared of a situation/risks。 Great work Jordan！ Excited to see what you'll accomplish in the future。 Jordan Peterson did a fantastic job with 12 Rules for Life。 One of my favorite topics is Rule #11。 The notion of having a sweet spot between safety and risk。 There is a healthy way to optimize risk。 You can actively choose to not be scared of a situation/risks。 Great work Jordan！ Excited to see what you'll accomplish in the future。 。。。more

Michał ，

Incredible depth of thought。 Best self-help book for navigation in modern times and， actually， all times。 The insightfulness of Jordan's thought process continues to amaze me。 5/5！ Incredible depth of thought。 Best self-help book for navigation in modern times and， actually， all times。 The insightfulness of Jordan's thought process continues to amaze me。 5/5！ 。。。more

Shahrukh Nadeem ，

Timeless。 Extraordinary。 Illuminating。Thank you， Dr Peterson， as well as a special thanks to my brother who introduced me to this psychology extraordinaire。

Sarah Iseley ，

12 Rules for Life is an enjoyable but dense read。 As any good psychological or philosophical text does， it often challenges the reader to engage with and truly consider the words on the page as they relate to the life that the reader currently lives。 It is also unique in that each of the Rules build upon or feed into the others， so once a Rule is talked about， it's not just abandoned in the rest of the text。The references and overall guidance given in 12 Rules for Life are generally faith-based 12 Rules for Life is an enjoyable but dense read。 As any good psychological or philosophical text does， it often challenges the reader to engage with and truly consider the words on the page as they relate to the life that the reader currently lives。 It is also unique in that each of the Rules build upon or feed into the others， so once a Rule is talked about， it's not just abandoned in the rest of the text。The references and overall guidance given in 12 Rules for Life are generally faith-based and traditional。 As a younger reader without organized faith， I was pleased to find that I could appreciate most of Peterson's thoughts and insights。 Peterson also does an ample job of explaining and contextualizing his religious references and allegories so that any engaged reader can understand the points he makes through them。 Overall， I very much enjoyed reading 12 Rules for Life and I do feel like I took away a fair bit of wisdom having read it。 I look forward to reading Peterson's other works and would recommend his mind to anyone interested in bettering their experience in existence。 。。。more

Justin ，

A philosopher of our time。

Arunayan Sharma ，

It is better to set your own rules。

Michelle ，

Life changing book！ Jordan Peterson has an amazing mind！

Steph ，

Jordan Peterson knows a lot of words and none of them are 'brevity' Jordan Peterson knows a lot of words and none of them are 'brevity' 。。。more

Yangzi Jiang ，

A preach on rather straightforward life principles through convoluted sentences and irrelevant personal anecdotes， embedded in his unfalsifiable worldview， which he inferred through the lens of a pseudo-scientific hodgepodge of biblical principles and 20th century psychology theories。（This sentence is constructed to mimic the writing style of Jordan B。 Peterson）“He who is everywhere is nowhere。” - Seneca。It is simply to ambitious for Peterson to attempt to apply his unifying theory of meaning， a A preach on rather straightforward life principles through convoluted sentences and irrelevant personal anecdotes， embedded in his unfalsifiable worldview， which he inferred through the lens of a pseudo-scientific hodgepodge of biblical principles and 20th century psychology theories。（This sentence is constructed to mimic the writing style of Jordan B。 Peterson）“He who is everywhere is nowhere。” - Seneca。It is simply to ambitious for Peterson to attempt to apply his unifying theory of meaning， aka。， maps of meaning， onto every single aspects of people’s lives。The best philosophers are people who achieved in the real world， not arm-chair ones。 。。。more

Marchel Paylor ，

I’ve never read so many terrible， long-winded thoughts collected in one place。 I’ll save the more in-depth analysis of this dung heap to other reviewers。 But I’ll mention one thing that I wish someone had told me before I started this book: it’s written by a guy who wants desperately to be a preacher but lacks the charisma and settles for being a pseudo-intellectual。 Luckily， it only took me a couple of days to burn through this weird， teenage， bible camp manifesto。 I was able to escape with my I’ve never read so many terrible， long-winded thoughts collected in one place。 I’ll save the more in-depth analysis of this dung heap to other reviewers。 But I’ll mention one thing that I wish someone had told me before I started this book: it’s written by a guy who wants desperately to be a preacher but lacks the charisma and settles for being a pseudo-intellectual。 Luckily， it only took me a couple of days to burn through this weird， teenage， bible camp manifesto。 I was able to escape with my sanity in tact。 Sadly， he’s a practicing psychologist so others won’t be so lucky。 God help them。 。。。more

Michelle ，

I gave up！The basis for each rule is great and I am trying to incorporate them into my life BUT I only got as far as half way through rule 7 and gave up reading。 I found it very religious with lots of references to the Bible and even quoting passages， I am Agnostic and found I couldn't relate to the examples， they actually put me off。Also， it was very dry writing， at times it felt more like a text book or a academic paper。 I gave up！The basis for each rule is great and I am trying to incorporate them into my life BUT I only got as far as half way through rule 7 and gave up reading。 I found it very religious with lots of references to the Bible and even quoting passages， I am Agnostic and found I couldn't relate to the examples， they actually put me off。Also， it was very dry writing， at times it felt more like a text book or a academic paper。 。。。more

Ieva Mičiulytė ，

Whilst clean your room and stand up straight are great advice in general， there is also a lot of prejudice， accusations and irrational claims in this book。 There is no denying that Jordon B。 Peterson is very well-read， as well as a very talented narrator and the majority of the arguments are written in a highly compelling manner。 However， that doesn‘t necessarily mean his arguments are always correct， it just means he‘s good at coming up with them。 I picked up this book having heard both that it Whilst clean your room and stand up straight are great advice in general， there is also a lot of prejudice， accusations and irrational claims in this book。 There is no denying that Jordon B。 Peterson is very well-read， as well as a very talented narrator and the majority of the arguments are written in a highly compelling manner。 However， that doesn‘t necessarily mean his arguments are always correct， it just means he‘s good at coming up with them。 I picked up this book having heard both that it‘s the best contemporary self-help book and the worst。 I started it with an open mind and when I noticed the re-acuring bible stories as the main source of arguments， I genuinely thought that this was the reason why this book gets criticized as much as it does。 Thus， I tried my best to look past religion， as there is wisdom in ancient texts as well。 However， the more I read the claims made by the author got more audacious and when feminism was covered with a thick blanket statement of being neo-marxist， communist etc。 my attitude towards the book changed completely。 As a resident of an ex USSR country I can still see the lingering side effects of Soviet mentality in today's society。 I‘ve heard countless stories of how women were beaten， children were mistreated and toxic masculinity have pushed the men towards suicide。 As asking help from a psychiatrist seemed like a one way ticket to the mental asylum。 After all， the mental asylum was a place were those who dared to criticize the government and communism would end up in。 Up to this day the built in fear and propaganda remains a major reason of my parents generation suffers from mental illnesses， yet are afraid to ask for help。 The push for mental health， laws protecting the weak， recognition of failure and disasters， basic human rights， this is what democracy， liberalism and even feminism has brought to my country。 Calling Frozen communist， because the princesses choices does not follow a certain patriarchal story line we are used to is not insightful， It‘s ignorance of what communism really is。 Stating that the push for gender equality is wrong and is harming men in academia is not brave， it harms both genders by discouraging one and giving the other a reason to blame “the system“。 Moreover， I can‘t help but feel like the argument “it‘s in our human nature“ is being tossed and used whenever it‘s convenient， but later on forgotten and dismissed， cause as the “most important“ creation of God， we are above it。 Sure， analyzing both physiology and biology is essential in understanding human behavior。 But can we really justify power based dominance on biology？ Personally， I like to feel like we have evolved past the “crustaceans stage“ and as individuals are able to control our basic human compulsions。 To put it simply， this book is not for everyone。 Your view on it will highly depend on your morale and the view you have on the world。 。。。more

Jai Dogra ，

Took me a long time to finish this book as it gets super boring at times but it has its redeeming points。 Would be better if you just read the summary of the all 12 rules rather than going through the entrie book。

Kaci ，

Mmm。 I had hoped this book would be good。 For the first couple of chapters， I found it really interesting and thought that Peterson had some ideas that were intriguing to contemplate。 Unfortunately， somewhere around chapter three or four， things started getting pretty biblical and I began to notice some views that I found questionable。 Then， the tone began to become more and more patronizing and while what he was talking about didn't apply to me， I found it off-putting。 All in all， DNF around ch Mmm。 I had hoped this book would be good。 For the first couple of chapters， I found it really interesting and thought that Peterson had some ideas that were intriguing to contemplate。 Unfortunately， somewhere around chapter three or four， things started getting pretty biblical and I began to notice some views that I found questionable。 Then， the tone began to become more and more patronizing and while what he was talking about didn't apply to me， I found it off-putting。 All in all， DNF around chapter 7。 Life's too short to keep with a book that's droning on and losing credibility with each passing page。 。。。more

Deba Jyoti Khawas ，

This is a complicated book to go through。 So， let me take it piece by piece。 First， it is impossible to separate the author from the work in this case。 Jordan Peterson is a well-known name to anyone who has even remotely followed the internet culture in the last few years。 He is a polarising figure and sounds extremely well put together and elegant in each of his talks and interviews。 However， the audience of his talks is only a section of the population: The North American/European population w This is a complicated book to go through。 So， let me take it piece by piece。 First， it is impossible to separate the author from the work in this case。 Jordan Peterson is a well-known name to anyone who has even remotely followed the internet culture in the last few years。 He is a polarising figure and sounds extremely well put together and elegant in each of his talks and interviews。 However， the audience of his talks is only a section of the population: The North American/European population who are familiar with the Bible and （mostly） white people's history。All this is reflected strongly in the book。 While the rules themselves are very succinct and simple points to live a meaningful life， the explanations he provides are just meandering thoughts between psychology， science， and religion with no discounts provided for the reader who didn't grow up with these ideas （like me）。And with the book laid out mostly like stream-of-consciousness essays， it comes with all the fan-favorite Jordan Peterson topics。 Thus， the reader gets a full-blown discussion of gender and pronouns， of the political right and left wings， the psychological analysis of Hitler and Stalin， and of course， boatloads of biblical stories tortured and distilled for their psychological and moral lessons。 One has to wade through all that during reading this book。 Thus it took me a few extremely long drives to complete this。 But the fruit is a few simple dictums which I do find really helpful。 The rules themselves are really well-chosen themes that apply to all persons at different stages in their lives。 Thus a broke student， a divorced middle-aged man， or an octogenarian: everyone can find something of value from this book both now and in the future。 And that is something which can't be said for most books。 I would recommend this book for a very specific person who is probably a little lost in life， and a little uncertain about purpose （like me）， but then is a kind of person who already has read/wants to read this book。 。。。more

Dawid Michalik ，

Really convincing， quite controversial and radical。 Provides good advice with sometimes too elaborate story behind it Great audiobook！ Very touching at times， when the author says his personal story。

Albert Bezuidenhout ，

ThinkingA lot of powerful thoughts have been collected here。 Read carefully so that you can properly absorb the summary of ancient wisdom。

edin87m ，

The book has some great bullet points/ rules。 Everything besides that was irrelevant for me。 The author’s examples simply didn’t resonate with me。 His way of narration is horrendously boring， barely kept my attention。 Innumerable revoking of the Bible scenes， Disney cartoons， and not even to mention the evolution of the lobsters to illustrate that females prefer dominate partners was simply too much。I’m of the opinion that this book should’ve been written on 50 pages tops。 I’ll be completely fai The book has some great bullet points/ rules。 Everything besides that was irrelevant for me。 The author’s examples simply didn’t resonate with me。 His way of narration is horrendously boring， barely kept my attention。 Innumerable revoking of the Bible scenes， Disney cartoons， and not even to mention the evolution of the lobsters to illustrate that females prefer dominate partners was simply too much。I’m of the opinion that this book should’ve been written on 50 pages tops。 I’ll be completely fair the author sprinkled some words of wisdom here and there and I was hoping he’ll finally justify his reputation but my hopes were in vain。I didn’t completely hate it but didn’t like it either hence the rating of two stars。 It left me with a “meh” feeling and I could’ve definitely spent my time better。Definitely gave up on his next book “Beyond Order:12 More Rules for Life”。 I’ll just read the rules because I’ve got a feeling that there is nothing more to extract from his books besides bullet points。 。。。more

Caz ，

Read for ‘cringe-tainment’ and holy cow the book did not disappoint。 Peterson is a navel-gazing Christian apologist who employs Freud and Nietzsche to manufacture importance of the Bible and conservative political positions。 For self-help value and theoretical/cultural insight， I give this book one star。 For comedic fascination and schadenfreude， three stars。 If you do pick this up， steel your mind before you begin。 The rambling self-important religious babble takes a toll。I recommend the audio Read for ‘cringe-tainment’ and holy cow the book did not disappoint。 Peterson is a navel-gazing Christian apologist who employs Freud and Nietzsche to manufacture importance of the Bible and conservative political positions。 For self-help value and theoretical/cultural insight， I give this book one star。 For comedic fascination and schadenfreude， three stars。 If you do pick this up， steel your mind before you begin。 The rambling self-important religious babble takes a toll。I recommend the audio version， as it is read by Peterson himself。 At certain points he is so moved by his own ideas that he literally cries as he reads。 Awesome。 。。。more

Sarah ，

Jam packed with great information。 I will have to read it a few more times！！！ Makes me want to study philosophy more。

Susan ，

Poor organization， weak example， written from an overly Christian older male's perspective Poor organization， weak example， written from an overly Christian older male's perspective 。。。more

Jordan Otto ，

Big fan of Dr Peterson and his work。 Unfortunately this book is a rehashing of his various lectures and talking points over the last 5 years， of which I’m quite familiar。 Lots of rambling， too。 IMHO， his ideas are better conveyed from his mouth than his pen。

Zaitoon ，

A helpful book， written with sincerity; sincerity of curiosity and of sharing wisdom。 The chapter for Rule 7 was particularly profound （for me） and felt like a revelation。 Anyone struggling with the concept of meaning， anyone struggling with senseless （and especially endless） suffering and still trying to do/act well in life - very important - should read this book。 I look forward to checking my notes when faced with difficulties of life and of decision making。

Michelle ，

2。5/5 ⭐️

Kimber ，

Let’s re-title this book， shall we？ NOT FOR KIMBER

Cole Wright ，

Interesting to read someone arguing biblical principles and citing scripture at various points throughout the book， but does not hold to Christianity…？？？ His points are well thought out and articulated。 A good quote“Strive to be the person at your Father’s funeral who everyone can depend on。”

Craig Earnshaw ，

excellent set of rules， not comprehensive but a good set

Reference

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