These are my thoughts about Rule 2 from Jordan B. Peterson’s “40 Rules”. You can read them all here.
2. Do not do things that you hate.
Most of Peterson’s rules are difficult for me (probably for anyone), but this one causes a visceral reaction within me, one that is also divided.
Part of me says, “Damn right! Walk away from those things.”
Another part of me says, “You have to do things you hate in order to get to where you want to go or even to just survive.”
I’m not sure which is correct and I’m not sure I agree with Peterson on this one.
I think if he had worded it “Aim to not do things that you hate” or “Try as much as possible not to do things that you hate”, I would be right with him. But his wording implies NEVER and my gut says that’s unrealistic.
I’m probably not the right person to be analyzing this one anyway. I may have spent most of my adult life doing things I hate, so I think I’m at the opposite extreme to his ideal.
But I look at men, particularly men, who, throughout history, have done jobs that they hated, that might even have killed them early, in order to provide for their families. Also men who have volunteered to go to war and die or be horribly injured or watch that happen to their friends next to them. I’m pretty sure they mostly hated what they were doing yet they chose to do it.
Anyway, I think it’s a good ideal to aim towards and maybe, in another ten years, I might look back and say that Peterson was right but, right now, I’m not sure.