Rules for a Better Life
While perusing books online the other day, I noticed one with a very provocative title that has been on Amazon’s top 20 list for a whopping 282 weeks: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, by Mark Mason. Curious to learn a bit about the author, I checked out his Instagram feed, where he has a million followers.
Mark Mason, who has sold 20 million books worldwide in 65 different languages, describes himself as a writer who’s been “giving life advice that doesn’t suck since 2008.” Having discovered many compelling insights and quotes on his feed, today I’m sharing one of his posts which I found both intriguing and wise:
27 Rules for a Better Life
by Mark Mason
1. Take responsibility for everything that happens in your life, even if it’s not your fault.
2. Practice an uncomfortable level of honesty.
3. Develop a certain amount of comfort with being disliked.
4. But not too much comfort.
5. Be curious, test out a wide variety of opinions.
6. Always be willing to change your mind when shown new evidence.
7. Also get comfortable simply not knowing certain things.
8. Always admit when you are wrong.
9. And always give others the credit when you are right.
10. Get good at apologizing.
11. Get good at forgiving, too.
12. Exercise at least a little bit, every day.
13. Develop a healthy relationship with food—use it to nourish, not numb.
14. If nothing seems to be working, sleep. You probably need it.
15. Don’t blame others for your problems.
16. Don’t blame yourself too much, either.
17. Never complain. Ever. It solves nothing and only makes a bad feeling worse.
18. When in doubt, err on the side of generosity.
19. Don’t make assumptions about people. You don’t know who they are or where they come from.
20. Similarly, don’t take other people’s assumptions about you personally. They don’t know you.
21. In all things: consistency over intensity.
22. Define what success means for yourself.
23. Then, never stop questioning that definition.
24. Don’t associate with people who make you a worse person.
25. Try to make everyone you associate with a better person.
26. Be ruthless about the previous two rules.
27. When stuck on a decision, ask yourself, “What will I regret NOT doing?” Then do that.
I appreciate how Mark’s list has spurred me to contemplate which of his “rules” might require more of my consideration, as well as what I would put on my own list. At this stage in my life, many of the “rules” I would add have to do with taking good care of myself, such as:
Prioritize presence over productivity.
Listen to your body before it needs to shout to get your attention.
Rush less, rest more.
Feel all of your emotions without censure.
Never stop cultivating your creativity.
Love yourself more than anyone else in the world.
I hope you find contemplating your personal “Rules for a Better Life” as thought-provoking and beneficial as I did!
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