Becoming Top Lobster

Ryan Politis

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

Jordan B. Peterson

The world is a better place with you in it.  There is a you-shaped hole in the world that only you can fill.  In Clinical Psychologist and former Harvard Professor, Jordan B. Peterson’s second book---12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos---he sets out on a mission to explain why you take care of your dog more than yourself, how lobsters relate to humans, and why you should stand up straight with your shoulders back.  The goal of Peterson’s book is to help people out of negative habits, bad life decisions, and begin a roll of positive-positive reinforcement. Peterson’s ideas about life are truthful and reflect his experiences with bad choices he made in life.   
I must preface the review by saying that I listened to the audiobook version of this book instead of reading a physical copy.  The parenthetical citations will look different than other reviews because of this. The audiobook is 16 hours long and I haven’t made time to relax and listen to the book.  I have barely scratched the surface of Peterson’s 12 rules but to understand a lot of the concepts in his book you will need to understand his view of the famous Taoist symbol the Yin and Yang.  Peterson describes the white orderly Yang as, “the wise king and the tyrant forever bound together as society is simultaneously structure and oppression” (Peterson Chapter 1). He then describes the black chaotic Yin as, “the new and unpredictable suddenly emerging in the midsts of the commonplace familiar” (Peterson Chapter 1).  If you can understand these concepts of Yin and Yang, then you’ll be able to recognize why some of his rules will sound silly and the reasons why. Peterson explains why standing up straight promotes courage and vulnerability, “If you slump around with the same bearing that characterizes a defeated lobster, people will assign you a lower status” (Peterson Chapter 2).  The lobster and the Yin and Yang show themselves in this rule wonderfully. The edge of order and chaos that come with maintaining the alpha position of a lobster with a lot of serotonin can be connected to your life. Reflecting the posture of a top lobster will have people assign you a higher status; your life will be improved.

This book is great.  I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone.  However, there will be people that will despise this book due to Peterson’s online “controversies.”  Some people that read this will recognize the interview the title is referencing, but I won’t go into Peterson’s other work because it’s completely off topic, however, I will say that if you can get past it and listen to Peterson you can truly understand why I like this book.  It helped me and it will help you.