12 Rules for Life that aren't from right-wing weirdos

Not leftist advice, but advice that happens to be from someone on the left.

Still from “Lemon of Troy”, The Simpsons 1996.

Given the rise in the popularity of figures like Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate, a lot of folks on the left have been asking why the right seems to be monopolizing the self-help-for-young-people industry. The answer to this is that right-wing politics are intrinsically individualistic and take for granted that things like willpower and personal character are what improves society. As a socialist, I am interested in building a just and egalitarian society that is functional despite individual shortcomings; I am interested in systems and institutions. Your soul I leave to God, and your brain I leave to your therapist.

That said, since it’s Friday and I’m still working on a more substantive political piece, I thought I’d post the kind of advice that I usually give to the young people I interact with: students, relatives, the children of friends, and people online. Most of this is very modest and I won’t pretend that it works for everyone, but these are definitely things that have helped me and I hope that any young readers might find them useful, too.