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Rules to live by

Of the self-determined and self-enforced variety.

These are rules I try to live by, but obviously it won’t always happen. If you catch me breaking one of these rules, please call me out on it. It’s easier to spot inconsistencies in other people than yourself, so that’s why I’m asking for your help to catch my own inconsistencies. And if I appear annoyed by you when you do this, just remind me that I asked you to do this. Thanks!

Influences

My beliefs

  • I should try to follow a few guidelines when participating in a disagreement: use friendly language, understand first, ask questions that aim to surprise me, speak for myself, and help everyone become better.
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  • I should avoid using group labels for people unless they explicitly request it.
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  • I should regularly review my beliefs and update them.
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  • I should review my year every year on my birthday.
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  • I should not dilly-dally if something needs to be done.
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  • I should be my word.
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  • I should have good intentions towards people I directly or indirectly impact.
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  • I should admit to being the maker of my own meaning.
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  • I should not feel sorry for myself and avoid competitive suffering.
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  • I should create and articulate a clear vision that I'm striving for, stand behind it, and review it often enough to make course-corrections along the way.
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  • I should rally others with my vision.
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  • I should be the change I want to see.
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  • I should stake my reputation on my better self, then strive to live up to it.
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  • I should be comfortable with the consequences of being who I am, even if they were unintentional.
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  • I should make my own advice after consulting others, and then take it.
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  • I should manage my stress, health, and clarity by consistently eating well, exercising, and getting enough sleep.
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  • I should study my mistakes so I don't repeat them.
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  • I should retry things I don’t like every once in a while.
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  • I should go slow, work hard, and avoid shortcuts.
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  • I should cultivate quality time with myself, with others, and with my interests.
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  • I should face things that make me uncomfortable.
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  • I should take responsibility for things I find important, even if I can’t fully control them.
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  • See all beliefs

Buster Benson (@buster) is a writer and builder of things. If you're new here, check the about page or see my entire life on a page.

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