[September 17, 2026] You can choose to live a great story in your life, or a pathetic one; there’s no in between story. And then you might ask yourself, what could grip you or that you could live by to have a meaningful life? That is the central question.
You can pursue those things in your life that are meaningful and also challenging. You can set up your life so that the pursuit of meaning is done optimally. Your challenges could be too easy (achieved without effort) or too hard (punishing for you to achieve); you need something else.
You should pick the level of effort you are willing to engage in. By doing so, you get the benefits of perfection while still being imperfect. What is relevant is the journey that you’re undertaking to overcome your imperfections. So, instead of aiming to be the entity without flaws, you’re aiming to be the entity that continuously realizes its flaws and overcomes them.
Or, another option is to take Cain’s attitude in the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. He externalizes responsibility by blaming his brother Able for the catastrophe of his life. He then rejects the catastrophe of his own life, and fails to transcend it. And, therefore Cain doesn’t make the right sacrifices.
The fundamental lesson here is that we should not let what we are stop us from being what we could be. It requires us to seek out the errors of our ways. Doing so is what humility is; to want to see our problems, and put ourselves into he position where we can discover our errors.
We should seek out the circumstances where we can discover our errors. This is the same as seeking a challenge and yet keeping ourselves on the proper track. To find where our limits are located, and do that in a way that is engaging and refreshing.
”You can use your sense of meaning to calibrate your progress through life.” – Prof. Jordan Peterson
But, there are rules. You have to aim at the highest possible good that you can conceive. And that is subject to updates, because what do we know? Aim at what you can see rather than shooting for something dimmer that is vague and unknown. It’s a big decision, so do that honestly.
The first decision is to decide that you are worthwhile and that you are going to work for your own betterment.
The second decision is based on truth. Having made that decision, you’re going to play a straight game.
Having made those two decisions, you begin to see your pathway forward. And then what is interesting. That is your adventure. It is actually better to be engaged in the solution of a complex problem than not to have a problem at all.
NOTE: This article is a summary of ideas of Prof. Jordan Peterson.
————
Please read my books:
Yep, another how to live better by Dr. Jordan Peterson and Gen. Satterfield. Thanks to you both for helping us all see a better way to live life in such a way that we are fulfilled with what is important and not with surface-level trinkets and empty fun. I’m reminded of an old article by Gen. Satterfield where he talks about “Fun, Fashion, and Flashy” stuff. I misnamed it but you get the picture. He was saying that these are NOT what makes us happy or good people. It takes concrete and hard work to do good. And be a productive member of our community and family.
Another excellent philosophical article on how to live a good life.