Rule 11: Don’t Bother Children When They Are Skateboarding

12 Rules For Life Book Summary (Jordan B. Peterson)

This rule discuss the patriarchy, the psycholgical differences between men and women and their roles in society, the effects of stultifying and softening the edges of our envrionment and the effect it’s had on children and adults alike.

“We know children and people are generally safer when they use protective equipment. But, this can ruin a lot of the fun, excitement and risk involved in learning a new skill. When children go off and play and do a lot of these risky activities, they aren’t trying to be safe. In fact, they’re trying to be competent, and it’s competence, that makes people truly safe.”

This is an interesting metophore to begin with as it represents the effects of trying to soften the world around us, reflecting in many ways how it’s becoming harder to fail, fall and hurt yourself. In fact, involuntary pain and suffering appears to never have been less prevelent in the modern world.

Because we have so much protective equipment mentally, emotionally, and physically, we do not form the calluses of the mind and body - that armoring that can protect us from the involuntary future…