Rule 6: Set Your House In Perfect Order Before You Criticize The World

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

We’re going to start this rule with a story by Hercules, son of Zeus and champion of mankind. This story’s not contained in this book. This is a story that I found that I believe pertains very accurately to the philosophy that’s contained within this rule.

“The goddess Hera hated Hercules for being born of her husband’s adultery so she struck him with a temporary curse of madness. As a result, Hercules killed his wife and children. Consumed by grief, Hercules sought out the oracle of Delphi who told him the path of atonement lay with his cousin, King Eurystheus. Eurystheus hoped to humiliate Hercules with 10 impossible tasks that pitted him against invincible monsters. These became known as the Labors of Hercules.”

“The first labor was to slay the Nemean Lion, who kidnapped women and devoured warriors. Its golden fir was impervious to arrows but Hercules cornered the lion in its dark cave, stunned it with a club and strangled it with his bare hands. There was no tool sharp enough to skin the lion until the goddess Athena suggested using one of its own claws. Hercules returned to Eurystheus wearing the lion’s hide, frightening the King Eurystheus so much he hid in a wine jar. From then on, Hercules was ordered to present his trophies at a safe distance.”

“Subsequent labors included slaying a Hydra, hunting a single deer for one year, stealing a herd of magical red cattle from a giant with three heads. Hercules has completed his 10 labors, but Eurystheus had claimed that two did not count because he had accepted help in achieving them so Eurystheus created two additional labors; one, two obtain golden sacred apples, and two, bring back a three headed hound, Cerberus who guarded the underworld. Once Hercules had…