We focus on the idea of happiness too much
and the problem with that is that it takes our focus away from aims that would be more productive.
It's much better to aim for meaning than for happiness.
"12 Rules for Life" is about how to live properly in the face of
vulnerability, tragedy, and malevolence.
One of the propositions
in "12 Rules for Life" is that life
existance is
usefully characterized as an interplay between order and chaos or unknown and known.
You're always striving to balance those two.
If what you're doing is too familiar, you're bored;
and if what you're doing is too unfamiliar, then you're anxious;
and what you want to do is find the harmonious line between those two,
and that's signified by meaning.
If you can get those things right, you can have your cake and eat it too.
I hope people can take away the idea that there is a mode of being
in the face of the vulnerability and tragedy of life
that is noble and powerful
and capable of sustaining them through the worst possible times without becoming corrupt and bitter.
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
by Jordan B. Peterson
Learn more at jordanbpeterson.com