Chapter 4: Compare yourself to who you were yesterday (not to who someone else is today)
I completed this chapter tonight, in the book “12 rules of life” by Jordan Peterson .
Aim low (as in, take small steps) , have grace with yourself, set your sights on where you want to go.
Instead of comparison, jealousy and resentment.
Ask yourself: How can I aim for a better life? What should I focus on for a better life?
This question expands possibility. It expands our horizons. It expands what can be seen. It expands what we set our sights on. We set our sights heavenbound, instead of bitterness bound. We set our sights on the sky, instead of on the void we so often peer into.
When frustrations come our way, Peterson proposes asking the following questions:
What’s bothering me?
Is it something I can fix?
Am I willing to fix it?
When I first read through these questions, they seemed simple enough. When I really considered what these questions meant, I was met with self imposed trepidation.
Question number one: What’s bothering me? This is pretty straight ahead and often easy to identify as we are more often in tune with our annoyances than our appreciations.
Question number two: Is it something I can fix? This causes pause to uncover what is in our power and what is beyond it. This causes reflection on freedom and the power to choose.
Question number three: Am I willing to fix it? This is the significant question. When I reflected on a particular situation, I was able to answer the first two questions with ease. But being willing to fix something? That requires real honest to goodness taking responsibility. And not only that, that requires action. Action that is not always desirable or straight ahead.
In the journey of a better life, of more grace and bounty, sights must be set, questions must be asked.
The best place to start, as Peterson states, is not with how can I change the world, but how can I be a bit better today, than I was yesterday. Start with this question. Because, though it may seem small, starting, is the best way to, well, start.