What is a personal rule that you live by?

[knowyouareloved]

What is a personal rule that you live by? Why do you follow it?

To get the ball rolling, one I created for myself some years ago is to assume that every person I meet disagrees with me on a topic that is very important to me. There are two advantages. First, when I find out that someone I know has a disagreeable opinion on a serious matter, it's not as shocking, because my understanding of the person already "priced in" at least one bad take on some topic or another. Second, it forces me to accept that I cannot simply run away and insulate myself from people who are at odds with me on core issues, because finding a group of perfectly like-minded people is impossible, although I may manage to find one or two such people someday. I am not claiming that this is great advice or that everyone should follow it but I personally have found it to be useful.

People here are thoughtful and have quite varied backgrounds so I would be interested to hear about any rules that you have adopted for yourself.

 

[Alaska Palms]

There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese.

 

[K0WLOON]

Only Go Dutch on a Dinner Date

 

[DukeLeto92]

"If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same."

 

[angertard]

I try to never think the same thought twice. If I catch myself doing it I try to twist the thought so that winds up going somewhere else.

 

[ECHETLAEUS]

Pressure causes fear, fear causes lies, lies causes death. Calmness causes the psyche to ascend, we dont think we choose. Humility is about be open to the infinite(God) by making your ego poor. Imagination is the tool to access your soul and your emotions and the now is a gift thats why its called a present. Breath is the bridge to between your body and spirit and every time your breath stops you give space to everything bad to evil. 4 elements fire water air earth. These solved me many problems that i created.

 

[zoeytropey]

my personal rule is to have no stringent rules or dogma to follow, however i have found treating every situation and being i come across with first empathy (love) is helpful

 

[yokitokola]

Don't speak or act when angry. I always end up regretting what I do out of frustration, and I don't want to be kept up at night by stupid things I said when upset. Even if I really was wronged, it's better to wait and approach the situation level headed later.

If I feel slighted, cracking a joke has led to quick de-escalations. I much rather agree to disagree than spend time arguing.

 

[ControllerJunkieツ]

Never drink alcohol just by yourself, and don't make every night out alcohol oriented - to me it's the simplest way to avoid alcoholism

 

[Hamadayoshi]

I like personal rules, it's kind of like entering a contract with yourself and basis for self improvement, I just wish a lot of this stuff wasn't being co-opted by grifters, because a lot of smart guys also tend to be cynical and see impositions that may actually be helpful as "spooks". For me I have a few but the most important I'd say are:

- Don't consume drugs, and moderate caffeine/sugar intakes.
- Try to reduce at a minimum the harm done to other living beings, I'll eat fish sometimes, but not land animals (I know, it's a bit mammalia-centric of me).
-Don't look at your phone before 8 A.M (about a hour after I wake up).
-Be mindful of the content you consume, always ask yourself if that engagement is worthwhile.

 

[punisheddead]

Some arguments are just not worth having.

 

[Klaus]

If there is the time, sleep well before making a big decision you've been thinking about all evening, very helpful if you regularly get depressed during the evening and nights. You may do this with more marginal decisions as well and decide in the morning

 

[Julia]

To constantly test and examine my emotions. To hold them in isolation. Eg. I had a beautiful golden bee. I walk in the woods often and I took it to the woods and left it on a log and walked away. I've the days that followed I felt I had a connection to the darkness that surrounded the bee at night. I felt a sense of loss because I no longer had the bee. I felt a sense of journey as someone could find and take the bee. Also the bee had a larger place in my thoughts than ever before. This is a safe way to examine emotions without bunging in all the baggage of background and difficult past memories but gaining the ability to examine emotions in isolation is a valuable tool to have.

 

[Julia]

I like personal rules, it's kind of like entering a contract with yourself and basis for self improvement, I just wish a lot of this stuff wasn't being co-opted by grifters, because a lot of smart guys also tend to be cynical and see impositions that may actually be helpful as "spooks". For me I have a few but the most important I'd say are:

- Don't consume drugs, and moderate caffeine/sugar intakes.
- Try to reduce at a minimum the harm done to other living beings, I'll eat fish sometimes, but not land animals (I know, it's a bit mammalia-centric of me).
-Don't look at your phone before 8 A.M (about a hour after I wake up).
-Be mindful of the content you consume, always ask yourself if that engagement is worthwhile.

Hi, how ridged are your rules? Do you play with them in a light hearted manner or are they serious and inflexible?

 

[PizzaW0lf]

Nowadays, I hold authenticity and honestly as a very high value even if being honest sucks. I hate it when people hide things away and being authentic makes me relaxed. Hiding things just makes my alienation worse. I especially hate it when people act like they're on a high horse.

 

[Hamadayoshi]

Hi, how ridged are your rules? Do you play with them in a light hearted manner or are they serious and inflexible?

The first two I listed are inflexible. Sometimes I have to use my electronics early in the morning and sometimes I go to the movies with my friends to watch something I wouldn't want to watch alone.

 

[Julia]

The first two I listed are inflexible. Sometimes I have to use my electronics early in the morning and sometimes I go to the movies with my friends to watch something I wouldn't want to watch alone.

That sounds good. How do you examine them to ensure they are current and authentic? I believe we have a new set of lenses each day and our perceptions and perspectives shift so revisiting for me is key.

 

[Julia]

Nowadays, I hold authenticity and honestly as a very high value even if being honest sucks. I hate it when people hide things away and being authentic makes me relaxed. Hiding things just makes my alienation worse. I especially hate it when people act like they're on a high horse.

I am more relaxed about authenticity these days A person might look in a pool and see their reflection then give you a cup of the water and be surprised that you don't know them. I believe we go through life only seeing one perspective, one perception at a time. The authentic is an open book. The un authentic is a very interesting rabbit hole full of strange motives and ignorance. That's worth playing with understanding that.

 

[Oktavarium]

There's a few:
1. Give what you owe to God, and some more when you can.
2. What you have and what you lack are heavenly provisions.
3. Eternal satisfaction is apathy. Dissatisfaction drives growth.
4. Man is not a passive presence in the universe. His role is to create his own world.
5. Your life's a house. God gave you a general blueprint, and it's up to you to build it and furnish it however you please.
Or, in short:

 

[Andraserapis]

My personal rule is to never expect anyone to change, and my personal practical philosophy is to always assess how much you know before using what you know.
Both are super important, but everyone should follow that rule. If you don't like someone, don't expect them to change. You can only change yourself, and it is in fact a virtue to do so.

Never drink alcohol just by yourself, and don't make every night out alcohol oriented - to me it's the simplest way to avoid alcoholism

This is real af. Had an awesome psychology professor tell the class this once and it's amazing advice.

- Don't consume drugs, and moderate caffeine/sugar intakes.
- Try to reduce at a minimum the harm done to other living beings, I'll eat fish sometimes, but not land animals (I know, it's a bit mammalia-centric of me).

BORIINNGG

There's a few:
1. Give what you owe to God, and some more when you can.
2. What you have and what you lack are heavenly provisions.
3. Eternal satisfaction is apathy. Dissatisfaction drives growth.
4. Man is not a passive presence in the universe. His role is to create his own world.
5. Your life's a house. God gave you a general blueprint, and it's up to you to build it and furnish it however you please.
Or, in short:

1) From 2., everything that we have and don't have are heavenly provision
2) We have a desire for some things, and lack desires for other things
3) From 1) and 2), our desires for some things and not other things are heavenly provisions
4) From 5., we can analogously build and furnish our house as we please/desire
5) However from our desires are heavenly provisions
6) Thus we can only 'build and furnish our house' according to heavenly provisions
7) Thus man is a passive presence
8) Contradiction with 4.
Invalid argument, C minus, See me after class.