12 Rules for Life #2 Treat Yourself Like Someone You Are Responsible for Helping (Summary)

This is a chapter-by-chapter summary of a book by Jordan B. Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (2018) series. One chapter, one article. Read this summary, buy the book. Enjoy!

“We deserve some respect. You deserve some respect. You are important to other people, as much as to yourself. You have some vital role to play in the unfolding destiny of the world. You are, therefore, morally obliged to take care of yourself. You should take care of, help and be good to yourself the same way you would take care of, help and be good to someone you loved and valued. You may, therefore, have to conduct yourself habitually in a manner that allows you some respect for your own Being…”

(Jordan B. Peterson)

Peterson states the fact how most people have self-contempt and there are many times that they don’t even realize it. In fact, on most occasions, people take care of their family, friends and even their pets but neglects their own self. Of course, helping those you love and care about and take some responsibilities on behalf of them is very good, but we must realize that we must do the same thing for ourselves – for our own good too. Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, points out that ‘to ‘love one’s neighbor as thyself’ one must have some degree of self-love and self-care attached.” This may be something simple such as having self-respect and considering ourselves an important person with potentials, rights, and desires.

Besides, the more we look after ourselves the healthier and powerful we’ll be to support the ones we care. On the contrary, if we neglect ourselves then we’ll make a pattern of bad mistakes. Thus, our life will get worse not only for us but for the people around us too. A person’s actions echo sometimes in ways that cannot be imagined. An example may be Stalin's mother whose mistakes created ripple effects that affected millions of people (read Chapter 2 to know more).

Hey, Treat Yourself Good.

Self-Esteem and Creativity: An Example of Walt Disney

In my opinion, most creative-successful people in life are those who retain a strong belief in their own worth and value, even when they have few material possessions to sustain them. They hold fast to their dreams and believe in the validity of their ideas, their belief being stronger than the rejection or acceptance of them by other people. 

When Walt Disney had a new idea he would ask ten people at random what they thought about it. If they all gave negative responses, he would start working on his idea immediately. Walt Disney had many rejections to deal with during his lifetime as a result of seeing things differently from other people and putting everything he had into his dreams. When Walt Disney was trying to find people in Hollywood to give him financial backing for an early cartoon, Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie, he was bankrupt. It is hard to imagine just how difficult it must have been in the days of silent films to sell anyone the idea of a talking mouse with a funny voice. However, children and adults around the world today continue to appreciate the wonderful films and magical theme-parks created by this remarkable dreamer.

So was Walt Disney a better human being when he was bankrupt and still doing the original voice of Mickey Mouse, or after he had made all those marvelous films and created those magical theme-parks? Walt Disney had the kind of self-esteem that enable him to persevere long after others would have stopped trying. He had a self-sustaining confidence in his own abilities and dreams, and clearly understood that real value resides in the doer and not in the deed.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Common Blocks to Creativity #3: Resource Myopia

“Resource myopia is common among pragmatic,

no-nonsense realists who ‘see things as they are.’

Innovation thrives on seeing things as they might be” (David P. Campbell)

Myopia means “the quality of being short-sighted” and “lack of foresight or intellectual insight.” Resource myopia, thus in this context, mean, the inability to see the resources at our disposal. It is a common block to creativity! We are often unaware of our own strengths. The resources at our disposal are usually much larger than we imagine. Consider a man like Nelson Mandela. He had no formal authority nor, to begin with, an exceptional gifts. But by his pen, by his speech, by his example, and by his ability to bring together dedicated men and women, he was able to move mountains, so to speak.

The ability to perceive one’s strengths and weaknesses accurately and the awareness of the resources in one’s environment are indispensable for overcoming resource myopia. Curiosity about the situation one find oneself in, the habit of asking around who has what resources and where, “the managerial trait of being able to draw readily on the resources of others,” are worth cultivating to get rid of this block.

Resource myopia gives rise to a number of other disabilities that also hinder creativity. They chief of these are fatalism, excessive dependence, “learned helplessness,” and inferiority complex. These are dangerous! All these disabilities arise because resource myopia makes us poor problem-solvers. Get rid of resource myopia, immediately!

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

References:

1.      Lifelong Creativity: An Unending Quest by Pradip N. Khandwalla (Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, 2004).

2.      Take the Road to Creativity and Get Off Your Dead End by David P. Champbell (Center for Creative Leadership, 1977)

9 Types of Intelligence: All of Us are Creative (But Different)

Most people who think that they are not creative say to themselves: “I’m not creative.” It is far from the truth! The truth is: All of us are born to be creative. If we believe we are not creative, we act as if we are not creative and so we become not creative. We make excuses, we don’t give ourselves a chance, we afraid. However, if we think we are creative, we can become more creative, be more confident and have more faith in ourselves. We must first learn to think and say to ourselves: “I am creative!” This is the first step.

Again, all of us are creative. But “we differ only in the degree and scope of our creativity. There is no one person who is creative in all fields of human endeavor,” write Dr. Yew Kam Keong. I can play guitar, but you can’t. You can calculate complex account figures, but I can’t. Does it mean I’m not creative? No. We are just different. Howard Gardner, a professor at the Harvard University believes that all of us possess nine intelligence to varying extents. You may possess three or more intelligence that may differ from mine (or probably as similar to mine) but nevertheless – you and I are creative. What intelligence do you possess?

9 Types of Gardner’s Intelligence:

1)    Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”). Creativity in the human ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals) as well as sensitivity to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations). 

2)    Musical Intelligence (“Musical Smart”). Creativity in the capacity to discern pitch, rhythm, timbre, and tone.  This intelligence enables us to recognize, create, reproduce, and reflect on music, as demonstrated by composers, conductors, musicians, vocalist, and sensitive listeners. 

3)    Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (Number/Reasoning Smart). Creativity in the ability to calculate, quantify, consider propositions and hypotheses, and carry out complete mathematical operations. 

4)    Existential Intelligence. Creativity with sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why do we die, and how did we get here.

5)    Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart”). Creativity in the ability to understand and interact effectively with others.

6)    Bodily-Kinaesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”). Creativity in the capacity to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical skills. 

7)    Linguistic Intelligence (“Word Smart”). Creativity in the ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings.

8)    Intra-personal Intelligence (“Self Smart”). Creativity in Intra-personal in the capacity to understand oneself and one’s thoughts and feelings, and to use such knowledge in planning and directing one’s life.

9)    Spatial Intelligence (“Picture Smart”). Creativity in the ability to think in three dimensions.  Core capacities include mental imagery, spatial reasoning, image manipulation, graphic and artistic skills, and an active imagination. 

So, don’t ask are you creative, but how are you creative?

Ask yourself, which of Gardner’s Intelligence dominate in you?

How can you develop your dominants intelligence?

And how can you improve other intelligence and be more creative?

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)