The Beginning of Change

It seems that my way of living and thinking of things has always been in an attempt to learn, improve, and succeed. Whether this is just a product of a society that feasts on resolutions and quick improvements, or my own perfectionist (at times too much so) ideals, I have decided to read The Rules of Life by Richard Templar for my Quarter 2 IRP.

I always try to  make these "life changing" goals for myself that usually last no longer than a week. Ranging from my attempts to meditate daily or teach myself a new skill from an array of YouTube videos, the only thing that ever stuck was my vegan diet. I think this way of living greatly reflects who I am as a person. I live with this mindset that although I'm just fine as I am, their is always room for improvement and that I'm never actually good enough as is. That I have to pile on these interesting skills and hobbies that act as adjectives to who I am and what I've accomplished. It also shows the underlying existentialism I live by where no goal is too far fetched and that with a little dedication I can do anything. I'm going to use this mindset and The Rules of Life to try to create and all encompassing lifestyle change that will give me better outlook and more motivation to complete the smaller goals.


The Rules of Life is a great book for me to start out with. I'm a very list oriented person which flows nicely with the formatting of the 100 rules that the book holds. Already Rule #4 Accept Yourself, has stood out to me. I like to think I already have a pretty high self-esteem. I was lucky enough to have a mother that raised me to believe I was amazing, but as my past shows I am often trying to change little parts of myself. Therefore the quote in Rule #4 that stood out the most to me was, "You don't have to improve or change or strive for perfection. Quite the opposite. Just accept." (Templar 10). Personally this is a difficult idea to grasp and it is also hard to understand coming from book that is about changing your lifestyle. I think the message is that before you can improve you have to be ok with the what's already there. It somewhat reminds me of ceramics where before you can add a design, you should always smooth out the surface of the clay.


The other rule that stood out the most to me was Rule #5 Know What Counts and What Doesn't. Especially the quote, "Being here counts. Being kind and considerate counts. Getting through each day without seriously offending anyone or hurting anyone counts." (Templar 12). I think in this growing technological age this idea has become increasingly skewed. Is our online following really that important? Do the number of likes have any correlation to your happiness and fulfillment in life? Are you positively influencing other's lives with your actions? We live in such a self satisfying society, but I think we need to take some time and work on benefiting the world. Personally this rule strongly applies to my school life. I've spent years stretching myself thin for a 4.0, but will a perfect GPA actually change who I am? People aren't going to remember me for the grades I had, but rather how I impacted and affected them. We as humans have such potential in life and I think if we refocused our energy on the things that really mattered, the changes in the world would be immense.