Life constantly requires making decisions. What to wear, when to call your parents, getting the time and energy to take care of your health. The need to make decisions is never-ending.
But there is one way to make life easier and take decisions faster at the same time, it is our dear friend, rules.
You may dislike hearing the word rules, it might make you think of having less freedom. Perhaps it reminds you of school, living with your parents, and other times where you had to follow someone else's rules.
The Benefit of Having Rules
The thing is, when we set up rules for our own life, they can make it easier for us and result in less energy spent thinking. Rules can be principles you carry with you. Whenever a decision has to be made, you can act quickly because you know the rules you live by.
An example could be the Commandments of Moses.
• Honor your father and mother.
• Thou shalt not steal.
• Thou shalt not commit adultery.
• Thou shalt not kill.
• Thou shall not bear false witness.
Adopting these rules in your own life, means you can turn to them for answers, whenever decisions have to be made. You can let your rules be a guide in times of doubt.
I am not a religious man, but I see the value in certain rules from religious scriptures and how they can guide us to do good. These rules from the Ten Commandments of Moses are a great foundation to live by.
Deciding to follow them, to not steal, not lie, not kill, be faithful and honour your parents will help shape you into a good human being. If we were to ignore all rules, we would constantly have to evaluate and figure out what kind of person we should be. Setting rules helps us in taking the right choice, even when it is hard.
Set Your Own Rules
There are many ways to set up rules that will benefit your life. One of my favorites is the "Do it now" rule. Do it now means that when you have something that needs to be done, you do it immediately, without delaying it.
You just ate dinner and the dishes need to be taken care of, do it now.
You have an assignment to get done before Friday, do it now.
You want to do something nice for your partner, do it now.
The do it now rule, will save you time and energy like nothing else. It will prove to you that things and chores are so much easier to get done than you might think, when you don't delay them and do them now. You will start feeling good about yourself, your ability to get things done. You will start developing the confidence of being a competent person.
Good Rules Set You Free
You might think there are enough rules in this word, robbing us of our freedom. But rules bring order, and we want don't want our lives to turn into chaos. When we set our own rules, we free ourselves from the worry of making the right decision. Answers are provided by the rules we set, and they help us do good in time of weakness.
Rules and routines go hand in hand, developing the discipline of doing what's important to you will mold you into a more competent person, and you can start right now.
The do it now rule can be used anytime you have doubts of what you should be doing. Got the time? Clean your room, and do it now. This will create order and momentum of doing good things, even when tired or bored. Good rules set you free.
How rules lead to a balanced and joyful life
I took great inspiration from the book 12 Rules for life in this post. I have just finished it and found great inspiration to write about the good rules can do for a balanced and joyful life. The author, Jordan B. Peterson made me rethink my presumption of rules as something limiting. We need order, and rules create order, when we follow them.
our life is in your hands, and you should take full responsibility for it. Setting rules for ourselves is a great way of being responsible over our actions.
It's up to you to decide what kind of life you want to lead and what rules will assist you on the journey. We are not perfect, and sometimes our rules and routines get bent out of shape—that's life.
If you find that my post resonates with you, I recommend reading 12 Rules for life for yourself. It contains 12 rules to carry with you in life and is a great read.
If you want tips on how to read the book and remember it, or hear some of my thoughts, read the posts linked below!
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