Do you have a set of rules, or principles, that guide how you approach life? I’d be willing to guess that you have some core values that whether consciously, or not, influence your day-to-day activities in some way.
Recently I’ve come across a couple of people who have articulated their principles as something to help hold themselves to account.
John Perry Barlow, founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, had a list of 25 principles of adult behaviour.
While John Maeda identified four rules that he uses as “a compass to live my life by”. I can really get behind these rules:
1. Don’t speak ill of others
2. Avoid passive aggressive behvior
3. Listen broadly, but don’t waffle on decisions
4. When in error – admit, apologize, move forward
Both Barlow and Maeda are clear that perfection isn’t the aim. These principles are something to strive for. Sometimes we might fail but having a set of standards that we can return to in those situations can help us to reflect, learn from our mistakes and do better next time.
Featured image by Cam DiCecca on Unsplash
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[…] and work” as a filter to pass the decision through. I’ve talked about having a set of rules to live by or a personal manifesto. These both can act as guide points to help us make decisions, because how […]